In this video, we're talking about respiratory alkalosis so you can finally understand what
it means, what causes it, and what you actually need to know about it for nursing school.
And before we get started, make sure to hit that subscribe button and click the bell so
you never miss any nursing school tips and tricks that I have for you. Now, let's do
it.
So respiratory alkalosis is one of 4 main categories you need to know about when you
study arterial blood gases in nursing school: you've also got metabolic alkalosis, metabolic
acidosis, and respiratory acidosis. We'll talk about these other 3 in the other videos
in this series. So if you want a breakdown of those, be sure to check those other videos
out after this.
Respiratory alkalosis simply means ONE thing: the lungs got a little carried away with breathing.
When you see the word RESPIRATORY when it refers to ABGs, I want you to think of the
LUNGS. During RESPIRATORY alkalosis, the LUNGS are the problem, and we call them the party
poopers. So the lungs are the one's causing the respiratory alkalosis to occur.
Now, alkalosis means that the blood is more alkaline or basic than normal. It's more basic
than it is acidic. And you can find this out by looking at the pH value on your patient's
arterial blood gas (or ABG) panel.
A normal pH value is between 7.35 and 7.45. When the pH is less than 7.4, it's more ACIDIC.
When the pH is greater than 7.4, it's more BASIC or ALKALINE.
So during respiratory alkalosis, the blood is more ALKALINE, meaning more basic, so the
pH is greater than 7.4.
So here's what's happening during respiratory alkalosis: the lungs are getting a little
bit carried away with breathing, and they're giving off too much CO2. If you remember from
our previous video on respiratory acidosis, CO2 stands for carbon dioxide, and carbon
dioxide is an acid.
Usually, as you breathe, the lungs pull in oxygen, and let out CO2. There needs to be
a proper balance of carbon dioxide to help balance the pH level in the blood. Too much
carbon dioxide causes the blood to be more acidic, and to little carbon dioxide causes
the blood to be more basic or alkaline.
And that's exactly what's going on here in respiratory alkalosis: The lungs are letting
go of too much carbon dioxide (which means they're letting go of too much ACID), and
this causes the blood to be more basic or alkaline, which causes the pH to increase.
When you interpret arterial blood gas panels (or ABG panels), the number you're looking
for here is the PaCO2. That stands for the partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and it
tells you how much CO2 is in the blood.
A normal PaCO2 is between 35 and 45 milimeters mercury. This is a pretty easy one to remember,
because it looks just like the normal pH value, just without the 7! So it's pretty easy to
remember: a normal pH value is 7.35 to 7.45, and a normal PaCO2 value is 35 to 45.
Now here's what nursing instructors really LOVE to test you on: the causes of respiratory
alkalosis. And I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is there's only ONE
main underlying cause of respiratory alkalosis, and that is a increase in respiratory rate
or hyperventilation.
The bad news is that a whole lotta things can cause an increased respiratory rate: things
like fever, pain, mechanical ventilation, panic attacks, and anything else that can
leads to hyperventilation.
So, when you're faced with a nursing school exam question about the causes of respiratory
alkalosis, take a breath, put on your critical thinking cap, and remember that the underlying
cause of respiratory alkalosis is hyperventilation and losing too much carbon dioxide.
Now, if you're struggling with how to interpret ABGs and just wish someone would walk you
through it, I've got free cheat sheet and a video for you where I walk you through arterial
blood gas interpretation, step-by-step. I put the link to that cheat sheet and the video
in the description for you to check it out.
And if this video helped you understand respiratory alkalosis better, write LOVE in the comments
below. I can't wait to hear from you.
Now go become the nurse that God created only YOU to be. And I'll see you in the next video.