Characterization and Clinical Application of the Significance Band for Acute Respiratory Alkalosis

Abstract

The acid-base composition of plasma during hypocapneic anesthesia in man has been used to construct a 95 per cent significance band defining the acute steady-state response to reduced carbon dioxide tensions. The physiologic response to acute respiratory alkalosis with carbon dioxide tensions ranging from 15 to 35 mm of mercury falls within a zone approximately 6 nanomoles per liter wide for hydrogen ion activity and 5 mEq per liter wide for bicarbonate concentration. The present data, taken together with previous studies on acute hypercapnia, permit construction of a significance band encompassing carbon dioxide tensions between 15 and 90 mm of mercury; this band may be used as a nomogram for assessing complicating metabolic components in acute respiratory acid-base disorders.