A patient takes a drug overdose and becomes comatose. His blood pCO2 was 40 mmHg ten minutes ago, but you discover it is now 80 mmHg. Which one of the following statements about this patient is correct.
A. the pH of his CSF is likely to fall more slowly than the pH of his blood
B. the pH of his blood is likely to fall more slowly than the pH of his CSF
C. the pH of the blood and CSF will not change because he will rapidly eliminate bicarbonate in the urine in response to the rise in pCO2
D. the pH of the blood and CSF will change to a similar degree in this time period
Answer:B
A patient takes a drug overdose and becomes comatose. His blood pCO2 was 40 mmHg ten minutes ago, but you discover it is now 80 mmHg. Which one of the following statements about this patient is correct.
A. the pH of his CSF is likely to fall more slowly than the pH of his blood B. the pH of his blood is likely to fall more slowly than the pH of his CSF C. the pH of the blood and CSF will not change because he will rapidly eliminate bicarbonate in the urine in response to the rise in pCO2 D. the pH of the blood and CSF will change to a similar degree in this time period