Final answer:
An anxious nursing student likely experiences Respiratory alkalosis due to hyperventilation, while Kim's condition with a high pH and high bicarbonate level is classified as Metabolic alkalosis, often caused by excessive vomiting in bulimia.
Step-by-step explanation:
A nursing student is anxious about taking her final exam in NURB 210 and you are asked which acid-base imbalance a nurse would expect. The likely answer is Respiratory alkalosis, which can occur due to hyperventilation caused by anxiety. When a person hyperventilates, they exhale more carbon dioxide (CO2) than usual, which decreases the pCO2 levels in the blood leading to an increased pH and hence, alkalosis.
In the case study of a 38-year-old woman named Kim admitted to the hospital for bulimia with lab results indicating a pH of 7.48, pCO2 in the normal range, and total HCO3 higher than normal, this would be classified as metabolic alkalosis. There is no evidence of compensation as the CO2 is within a normal range indicating the respiratory system has not responded to the increase in HCO3. The mechanism behind bulimia contributing to these lab results is likely due to excessive vomiting, which can lead to the loss of stomach acids, thus raising the bicarbonate concentration in the blood.