Low Blood pH While on Ventilator

[ByFaith]

My husband has been in the ICU and on a vent for 4 weeks now due to Covid pneumonia. His vent settings are on 85% oxygen and 12 PEEP with a RR of 32. His oxygen levels are okay. This morning the pO2 was 87 and the monitor read 94. However, his CO2 remains very high (>90), which causes his pH to be acidic (7.1). Has anyone else gone through acidosis? What was done for it?

[Rhyl1 Partner Moderator ICUsteps]

There is a balance needed to not over-inflate the lungs in this situation and clearing CO2 from the blood. There are a few case histories of the use of actively removing CO2 from the blood (extracorporeal removal) see journal.chestnet.org/articl.... But it hasn’t been researched properly yet.

[Sepsur]

It depends on what has caused acidosis but here are some options

oral or intravenous sodium bicarbonate to raise blood pH.

medications to dilate your airways.

continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device to facilitate breathing.

sodium citrate to treat kidney failure.

insulin and intravenous fluids to treat ketoacidosis.