A week of diarrhea

core

A 52-year-old returns from travel with a week of profuse watery diarrhea.

Blood gas

pH7.28

PaCO230 mmHg

HCO314 mmol/L

PaO296 mmHg

Na137 mmol/L

Cl111 mmol/L

K3.1 mmol/L

No high/low cues on purpose: read the numbers the way the gas machine prints them.

Stepwise interpretation

Commit to your own read first: pH, primary process, compensation, gap, delta, oxygenation. Then walk the engine’s steps and see where you agree.