What is a primary chemical effect of CO2 absorption during pneumoperitoneum?

What is a primary chemical effect of CO2 absorption during pneumoperitoneum?

• A. Increases arterial CO2 concentration causing a drop in serum pH
• B. Increases bicarbonate level
• C. Decreases arterial CO2 concentration
• D. Increases oxygen saturation

Answer: (A)

CO2 absorbed from the pneumoperitoneum enters the bloodstream, raising the arterial CO2 tension. The extra CO2 shifts the carbonic acid equation to produce more hydrogen ions, lowering pH and causing a respiratory acidosis if ventilation isn’t increased. While buffering can alter bicarbonate levels over time, the immediate and primary chemical effect is the rise in arterial CO2 with a resulting drop in pH. The other choices don’t capture this direct chemical change: CO2 absorption increases, not decreases, arterial CO2; it doesn’t directly raise oxygen saturation.

CO2 absorbed from the pneumoperitoneum enters the bloodstream, raising the arterial CO2 tension. The extra CO2 shifts the carbonic acid equation to produce more hydrogen ions, lowering pH and causing a respiratory acidosis if ventilation isn’t increased. While buffering can alter bicarbonate levels over time, the immediate and primary chemical effect is the rise in arterial CO2 with a resulting drop in pH. The other choices don’t capture this direct chemical change: CO2 absorption increases, not decreases, arterial CO2; it doesn’t directly raise oxygen saturation.