Four Acid-Base Disturbances in a Critically-Ill Patient Undergoing Emergent Abdominal Surgery

Lactic acidosis is common in critically-ill surgical patients, but not all perioperative acid-base imbalances are attributable to tissue hypoperfusion. Other causes of acid-base abnormalities can be missed when focused on acute resuscitation of a surgical pathology. This report presents the case of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Orestes Mavrothalassitis, Balkarn S. Thind, Ashish Agrawal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Critical Care
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/1285598
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Summary:Lactic acidosis is common in critically-ill surgical patients, but not all perioperative acid-base imbalances are attributable to tissue hypoperfusion. Other causes of acid-base abnormalities can be missed when focused on acute resuscitation of a surgical pathology. This report presents the case of a 60-year-old woman with no past medical history who underwent exploratory laparotomy for umbilical hernia with incarcerated and perforated bowel whose perioperative management was complicated by four acid-base disturbances, including starvation ketosis. This case highlights the importance of early recognition of acid-base imbalances to explain concurrent medical pathology and accurately predict a patient’s expected post-operative course.
ISSN:2090-6439