Hypoventilation —
The lung alveolus is a space in which gas makes up 100 percent of the contents. This means that once the partial pressure of one gas rises, the other must decrease. Both arterial (PaCO2) and alveolar (PACO2) carbon dioxide tension increase during hypoventilation, which causes the alveolar oxygen tension (PAO2) to decrease. As a result, diffusion of oxygen from the alveolus to the pulmonary capillary declines with a net effect of hypoxemia and hypercapnia. Because the respiratory quotient (Defined as CO2 eliminated/O2 consumed) is assumed to be 0.8, hypoventilation affects PaCO2more than O2.
Hypoxemia due to pure hypoventilation (ie, in the absence of an elevated A-a gradient) can be identified by two characteristics. First, it readily corrects with a small increase in the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2). Second, the paCO2 is elevated. An exception exists when the hypoventilation is prolonged because atelectasis can occur, which will increase the A-a gradient . Abnormalities that cause pure hypoventilation include:
●CNS depression, such as drug overdose, structural CNS lesions, or ischemic CNS lesions that impact the respiratory center
●Obesity hypoventilation (Pickwickian) syndrome
●Impaired neural conduction, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, high cervical spine injury, phrenic nerve paralysis, or aminoglycoside blockade
●Muscular weakness, such as myasthenia gravis, idiopathic diaphragmatic paralysis, polymyositis, muscular dystrophy, or severe hypothyroidism
●Poor chest wall elasticity, such as a flail chest or kyphoscoliosis
Bhopalwala. H