A 76-year-old with COPD enters the hospital for a routine st…

A 76-year-old with COPD enters the hospital for a routine stress test. She has a barrel chest, digital clubbing, and appears cyanotic. She is using her accessory muscles of inspiration and is pursed-lip breathing. Auscultation reveals diminished breath sounds. The blood gas on room air results are as follows: pH: 7.37 PaC02: 76 HC03: 44 Pa02: 56  How would you interpret the results? 

An alert 56-year-old man with a history of COPD presents in…

An alert 56-year-old man with a history of COPD presents in the emergency department complaining of dyspnea, which has worsened over the last few days. A blood gas is drawn on room air: pH 7.26 PaCO2 70 mm Hg PaO2 50 mm Hg HCO3 32 mEq/L Interpret the blood gas.