What condition should you suspect if your patient is overventilating?

When a patient is overventilating, they are expelling more carbon dioxide (CO2) than their body can produce. This process leads to a decrease in CO2 levels in the blood, which is known as hypocapnia. The reduction in CO2 causes a decrease in the concentration of carbonic acid, leading to an increase in blood pH. This state is recognized as respiratory alkalosis.

Respiratory alkalosis often occurs in situations where a patient is hyperventilating, such as during anxiety attacks, pain, or certain pulmonary conditions. It is characterized by a high pH and low partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2). Therefore, if a patient is overventilating, respiratory alkalosis is the condition to suspect due to the physiological changes occurring as a result of decreased CO2 levels in the body.