What can be the long-term consequences of respiratory acidosis?

As already mentioned in the section “BGA”, respiratory acidosis leads in the long term to metabolic compensation, whereby more bicarbonate is retained. This keeps the pH value largely neutral. If there is a pronounced respiratory acidosis, the patient’s lips turn bluish.

The reason for this is that the blood contains too little oxygen. Patients also frequently experience difficulty breathing. However, since shortness of breath is an unreliable sign, other symptoms are more important: palpitations (tachycardia), increase in blood pressure, pulmonary hypertension, redness of the facial skin, confusion and even coma.

Long-term consequences, which are symptomatic but not acutely life-threatening, are as follows: Tiredness Mood swings Performance kink increased susceptibility to infections brittle nails Hair loss increased joint problems in rheumatoid arthritis. It is impressive that respiratory acidosis can cause a number of unpleasant symptoms, so treatment should be sought.

Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat)
Blood pressure rise
Pulmonary Hypertension
Redness of the facial skin
Confusion up to coma.
Tiredness
Mood swings
Performance bend
Increased susceptibility to infections
Brittle nails
Hair Loss
Increases joint pain in rheumatoid arthritis.

Therapy

The primary therapy of respiratory acidosis is to fight the cause of this condition. If the cause is a respiratory obstruction, it must be eliminated. Often it helps to artificially ventilate the patient by intubation to create physiological breathing conditions.

Bronchitis should be treated with antibiotics. If the respiratory depression is due to opiate administration, it should be stopped. In order to neutralize the opiate level, a drug can be administered which makes the opiate ineffective again.

Drugs that dilate the airways can also help here. Usually theophylline or a beta-sympatomimetic is administered in the form of a spray to dilate the bronchial tubes and thus make breathing easier. This is particularly necessary in the case of asthmatic illness.