RT Book, Section
A1 Chiu, William
A1 Jones, Kevin M.
A1 Chiu, William C.
A2 Farcy, David A.
A2 Chiu, William C.
A2 Flaxman, Alex
A2 Marshall, John P.
SR Print(0)
ID 55812458
T1 Chapter 21. Acid–Base Disorders
T2 Critical Care Emergency Medicine
YR 2012
FD 2012
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-162824-2
LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=55812458
RD 2024/04/25
AB The  assessment  of  an  emergency  patient's  acid–base  status  must  begin  with  a  clinical  suspicion  that  an  underlying  acid–base  disorder  exists.  That  an  acid–base  disorder  might  exist  in  a  patient  presenting  obtunded,  hypotensive,  hypoperfused,  or  obviously  in  extremis  is  rarely  surprising.  Patients  with  more  subtle  presentations  or  chronic,  well-compensated  acid–base  disorders  often  elude  clinicians  in  today's  busy  and  overtasked  emergency  departments.  One  must  remain  diligent  for  clinical  signs,  astutely  reviewing  basic  electrolyte  panels,  and  remain  open  to  the  possibility  that  a  patient  may  be  or  become  more  ill  than  he  or  she  first  appears.  Knowing  when  to  investigate  for  the  possibility  of  an  acid–base  disorder  or  evaluate  for  complex  mixed  acid–base  disorders  requires  astute  clinical  acumen.  Unfortunately,  many  emergency  providers  today  lack  the  ability  to  perform  mixed  acid–base  assessments  with  facility,  and  many  mixed  or  complex  disorders,  no  doubt,  go  undiagnosed  or  undertreated.