acidosis

1. the accumulation of acid and hydrogen ions or depletion of the alkaline reserve (bicarbonate content) in the blood and body tissues, resulting in a decrease in pH.

2. a pathologic condition resulting from this process, characterized by increase in hydrogen ion concentration (decrease in pH). The optimal acid-base balance is maintained by chemical buffers, biologic activities of the cells, and effective functioning of the lungs and kidneys. The opposite of acidosis is alkalosis. adj., adj acidot´ic.

Acidosis usually occurs secondary to some underlying disease process; the two major types, distinguished according to cause, are metabolic acidosis and respiratory acidosis (see accompanying table). In mild cases the symptoms may be overlooked; in severe cases symptoms are more obvious and may include muscle twitching, involuntary movement, cardiac arrhythmias, disorientation, and coma.

In general, treatment consists of intravenous or oral administration of sodium bicarbonate or sodium lactate solutions and correction of the underlying cause of the imbalance. Many cases of severe acidosis can be prevented by careful monitoring of patients whose primary illness predisposes them to respiratory problems or metabolic derangements that can cause increased levels of acidity or decreased bicarbonate levels. Such care includes effective teaching of self-care to the diabetic so that the disease remains under control. Patients receiving intravenous therapy, especially those having a fluid deficit, and those with biliary or intestinal intubation should be watched closely for early signs of acidosis. Others predisposed to acidosis are patients with shock, hyperthyroidism, advanced circulatory failure, renal failure, respiratory disorders, or liver disease.

compensated acidosis a condition in which the compensatory mechanisms have returned the pH toward normal.

diabetic acidosis a metabolic acidosis produced by accumulation of ketones in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.

hypercapnic acidosis respiratory acidosis.

hyperchloremic acidosis renal tubular acidosis.

lactic acidosis a metabolic acidosis occurring as a result of excess lactic acid in the blood, due to conditions causing impaired cell respiration. It occurs most commonly in disorders in which oxygen is inadequately delivered to tissues, such as shock, septicemia, or extreme hypoxemia, but it can also result from exogenous or endogenous metabolic defects. Initially manifesting as hyperventilation, it progresses to mental confusion and coma.

metabolic acidosis any of the types of acidosis resulting from accumulation in the blood of keto acids (derived from fat metabolism) at the expense of bicarbonate; this diminishes the body's ability to neutralize acids. This type is contrasted with respiratory acidosis. It occurs when there is either an acid gain (as in diabetic ketoacidosis, lactic acidosis, poisoning, or failure of the renal tubules to reabsorb bicarbonate) or a bicarbonate loss (as in diarrhea or a gastrointestinal fistula).

The symptoms of metabolic acidosis include weakness, malaise, and headache. As the acid level goes up these symptoms progress to stupor, unconsciousness, coma, and death. The breath may have a fruity odor owing to the presence of acetone, and the patient may experience vomiting and diarrhea. Loss of fluids can deplete body fluid content and aggravate the acidosis. Hyperventilation may occur as a result of stimulation of the hypothalamus. blood gas analysis will reveal a lowered pH and an elevated Pa_CO2. (See accompanying table.)

renal tubular acidosis (RTA) a metabolic acidosis resulting from impairment of the reabsorption of bicarbonate by the renal tubules, characterized by low plasma bicarbonate and high plasma chloride; the urine is alkaline.

respiratory acidosis acidosis resulting from ventilatory impairment and subsequent retention of carbon dioxide, in contrast to metabolic acidosis. The respiratory system has an important role in maintaining acid-base balance. In response to an increase in the hydrogen ion concentration in body fluids, the respiratory rate increases, causing more carbon dioxide to be released from the lung. When either an acute obstruction of the airways or a chronic condition involving the organs of respiration causes interference with the exhalation of the carbon dioxide produced by metabolic activity, carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood and unites with water to form carbonic acid.

Acute respiratory acidosis occurs when there is a relatively sudden malfunction of respiratory activities, as in upper airway obstruction, acute infections and inflammation of the lung and bronchial tissues, and pulmonary edema. In acute respiratory acidosis the compensatory chemical buffer systems are of limited benefit in restoring the acid-base balance because they depend on normal blood circulation and tissue perfusion for optimal effect. The physiologic regulators, the lungs and kidneys, are of little help because the lungs are malfunctioning and the kidneys require more time to compensate than the acute condition permits.

Chronic respiratory acidosis results from gradual and irreversible loss of ventilatory function, as in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although the patient in this condition does have an increased retention of CO₂, there is time for the kidneys to compensate by retaining bicarbonate and thereby maintaining a pH within tolerable limits. If, however, even a minor respiratory infection develops, the patient is subject to a rapidly developing state of acute acidosis because the lungs cannot be depended upon to remove more than a minimal amount of CO₂.

starvation acidosis a metabolic acidosis due to accumulation of ketones following a severe caloric deficit.

ac′i·dot′ic (-dŏt′ĭk) adj.

A disturbance of the balance of acid to base in the body causing an accumulation of acid or loss of alkali (base). There are two types of acidosis: metabolic and respiratory. One of the most common causes of metabolic acidosis is an overdose of aspirin. Respiratory acidosis is caused by impaired breathing caused by conditions such as severe chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, or airway obstruction.