Respiratory alkalosis
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| Respiratory alkalosis Classification and external resources | |
 | |
|---|---|
| Davenport diagram | |
| ICD-10 | E87.3 |
| ICD-9 | 276.3 |
| DiseasesDB | 406 |
| MedlinePlus | 000111 |
| eMedicine | med/2009 |
| MeSH | D000472 |
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Overview
Respiratory alkalosis results from increased alveolar respiration (hyperventilation) leading to decreased plasma carbon dioxide concentration. This leads to decreased hydrogen ion and bicarbonate concentrations.
Types
There are two types of respiratory alkalosis: chronic and acute.
- In acute respiratory alkalosis, increased levels of carbon dioxide are "blown off" by the lungs, which are hyperventilating. During acute respiratory alkalosis, the person may lose consciousness where the rate of ventilation will resume to normal.
- In chronic respiratory alkalosis, for every 10 mM drop in pCO2 in blood, there is a corresponding 5 mM of bicarbonate ion drop. The drop of 5 mM of bicarbonate ion is a compensation effect which reduces the alkalosis effect of the drop in pCO2 in blood. This is termed metabolic compensation.
Causes
Causes of the alveolar hyperventilation seen in respiratory alkalosis include:
- anxiety, hysteria and stress
- moving into high altitude areas, when the low atmospheric pressure of oxygen stimulates increased ventilation
- pyrexia in fever, which stimulates the respiratory centre in the brainstem
- drugs, including doxapram and large doses of aspirin, which also stimulate the respiratory centre
- CNS causes, including stroke, subarachnoid haemorrhage, meningitis
- pregnancy
- a hypoxic drive in lung disease, such as pneumonia
- caffeine overdose and coffee abuse
In addition, a respiratory alkalosis is often produced accidentally by doctors (iatrogenically) during mechanical ventilation of patients.
Symptoms
Symptoms of respiratory alkalosis are related to the decreased blood carbon dioxide levels, and include peripheral paraesthesiae. In addition, the alkalosis may disrupt calcium ion balance, and cause the symptoms of hypocalcaemia (such as tetany) with no fall in total serum calcium levels.
See also
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
