Acute renal failure and a resulting metabolic acidosis develop in a patient.The nurse recognizes that the respiratory system compensates through which of the following processes?
A) Hypoventilation and increase of bicarbonate in the bloodstream
B) Alternating periods of deep versus shallow breaths to maintain homeostasis of the serum pH
C) Hyperventilation to decrease the serum carbon dioxide and thereby increase the pH
D) Expansion of the lung tissues to their fullest, which increases the inspiratory reserve volumes to provide more oxygen to the tissues

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The respiratory system compensates for metabolic acidosis by hyperventilation, which decreases the serum carbon dioxide and thereby increases the pH. This helps to counterbalance the excess acid in the bloodstream by removing carbon dioxide, a weak acid that can combine with water to form carbonic acid. This compensation mechanism can be observed through arterial blood gas analysis, which typically shows a decrease in carbon dioxide levels and an increase in pH.

Acute Renal Failure and a Resulting Metabolic Acidosis Develop in a Patient.The