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Updated: Jul 31, 2025

Establishment of an Extracellular Acidic pH Culture System
Published on: November 19, 2017
A Systematic Approach to Understanding Acid-Base Disorders in the Critically Ill
Jeffrey F Barletta1, Justin Muir2, Judah Brown2
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA.
Objective:
The objective of this review is to discuss acid-base physiology, describe the essential steps for interpreting an arterial blood gas and relevant laboratory tests, and review the 4 distinct types of acid-base disorders.
Data Sources:
A comprehensive literature search and resultant bibliography review of PubMed from inception through March 7, 2023.
Study Selection And Data Extraction:
Relevant English-language articles were extracted and evaluated.
Data Synthesis:
Critically ill patients are prone to significant acid-base disorders that can adversely affect clinical outcomes. Assessing these acid-base abnormalities can be complex because of dynamic aberrations in plasma proteins, electrolytes, extracellular volume, concomitant therapies, and use of mechanical ventilation. This article provides a systematic approach to acid-base abnormalities which is necessary to facilitate prompt identification of acid-base disturbances and prevent untoward morbidity and mortality.
Relevance To Patient Care And Clinical Practice:
Many acid-base disorders result from medication therapy or are treated with medications. Pharmacists are uniquely poised as the medication experts on the multidisciplinary team to assist with acid-base assessments in the context of pharmacotherapy.
Conclusion:
The use of a systematic approach to address acid-base disorders can be performed by all pharmacists to improve pharmacotherapy and optimize patient outcomes.
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