Respiratory acidosis

Definition

Respiratory acidosis is a condition that occurs when the lungs cannot remove all of the carbon dioxide the body produces. This disrupts the body's acid-base balance. Body fluids become too acidic.

Alternative Names

Causes

Causes of respiratory acidosis include:

• Diseases of the airways (such as asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease), which send air into and out of the lungs
• Diseases of the chest (such as scoliosis) that make the lungs less efficient at filling and emptying
• Disease of the nerves and muscles that "signal" the lungs to inflate or deflate
• Drugs (including powerful pain medicines such as narcotics, and "downers" such as benzodiazepines), especially when combined with alcohol
• Severe Obesity

Chronic respiratory acidosis occurs over a long period of time. This leads to a stable situation, because the kidneys increase chemicals that help restore the body's acid-base balance.

Acute respiratory acidosis is a severe condition in which carbon dioxide builds up very quickly and before the kidneys can return the body to a state of balance.

References

Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000: 191-192.

Marx J., Hockberger R, Walls R Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2005.

Ford MD, Clinical Toxicology. 1st ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2001:92.