The sighing teenager

core

The 19-year-old from the DKA lab case, breathing deeply at 28 per minute.

Blood gas

pH7.12

PaCO222 mmHg

HCO39 mmol/L

PaO2108 mmHg

Na131 mmol/L

Cl95 mmol/L

K5.6 mmol/L

Glucose32 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.