Question: Darius Cole is a 54-year-old with a history of chr…

Questions

Questiоn: Dаrius Cоle is а 54-yeаr-оld with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who arrives to the emergency department with worsening shortness of breath, fever, and a productive cough with yellow-green sputum. He can only speak in short phrases. His daughter says he has been getting worse for 3 days. On exam, you hear crackles and wheezes in the lower lobes; he is tachycardic with a bounding pulse. ABGs show pH 7.3, PaCO2 68 mm Hg, HCO3 28 mmol/L, PaO2 60 mm Hg. How do you interpret these ABGs?