Treatment for Respiratory Acidosis involves what?

• A. Improving ventilation to eliminate carbon dioxide
• B. Oxygen therapy alone
• C. Administer diuretics
• D. Administer bicarbonate infusion

Answer: (A)

Respiratory acidosis results from hypoventilation causing CO2 to build up in the blood. The treatment that fits this scenario best is improving ventilation so carbon dioxide is blown off, which raises the pH back toward normal. In practice this means supporting breathing and ensuring a clear airway—using assisted ventilation as needed, from bag‑mask ventilation to noninvasive methods (like BiPAP) or invasive ventilation if necessary—to achieve adequate tidal volumes and minute ventilation. Oxygen support may be used to address hypoxemia, but it does not fix CO2 retention by itself and won’t correct the acidosis. Bicarbonate infusion is aimed at metabolic acidosis, not respiratory, and diuretics don’t address the underlying issue of ventilation. The core goal is to restore effective ventilation to normalize PaCO2 and pH.