Identifying the Primary Disorder

There are four primary abnormalities of acid-base balance:

• Metabolic acidosis
• Metabolic alkalosis
• Respiratory acidosis
• Respiratory alkalosis

These can be differentiated on the basis of changes in pH, serum [HCO₃^-] and pCO₂.

	pH	serum [HCO3-]	pCO2
Metabolic acidosis	↓	↓	↓
Metabolic alkalosis	↑	↑	↑
Respiratory acidosis	↓	↑	↑
Respiratory alkalosis	↑	↓	↓

Back