Question

A child who ingested a handful of aspirin tablets from a medicine cabinet at home is brought to the emergency department. The nurse caring for the child notes a respiratory rate of 48 breaths per minute. The nurse understands that this child's respiratory rate is the result of the body's attempt to compensate for:

a. metabolic acidosis.
b. metabolic alkalosis.
c. respiratory acidosis.
d. respiratory alkalosis.

Answer 1

The elevated respiratory rate in a child after ingesting aspirin is an attempt to compensate for metabolic acidosis by increasing respiration to drive off CO2, leading to respiratory alkalosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

A child presenting with an elevated respiratory rate following an ingestion of aspirin is likely experiencing respiratory alkalosis as a compensatory mechanism. Aspirin overdose, otherwise known as salicylate toxicity, initially leads to a metabolic acidosis that the body attempts to compensate for by increasing respiratory rate to blow off CO2 and reduce the acidity of the blood. The increased respiratory rate observed by the nurse, therefore, is an attempt by the body to correct the underlying metabolic acidosis by hyperventilating to reduce the carbonic acid levels.