Acute renal failure and a resulting metabolic acidosis develop in a client. The nurse recognizes that the respiratory system compensates through which of the following processes?

Question

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 re-serve volumes to provide more oxygen to the tissues

Answer 1

C
The respiratory system tries to correct metabolic acidosis by increasing ventilation to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and thereby raise the pH.
The respiratory system would compensate for metabolic acidosis with increased respirations, not hypoventilation. Bicarbonate is the renal component of acid–base balance, not the respiratory component.
The pH measures hydrogen ion concentration. Alternating deep versus shallow breaths is not a compensating mechanism of the respiratory system for metabolic acidosis.
The respiratory system does not compensate by expanding the lung tissues to their fullest. In metabolic acidosis, the respiratory system compensates by exhaling a greater amount of carbon dioxide.