You know how CO2 and bicarbonate levels change together? Like if CO2 goes up, bicarb goes up, and if CO2 goes down, bicarb goes down?
Well, then: LET ME BLOW YOUR MIND!
In mixed acid-base disorders, there is both a respiratory and a metabolic acid-base disruption. So the bicarb and CO2 change in opposite directions!
It totally makes sense if you think about it a little bit. For example, in cardiopulmonary arrest, the patient stops breathing. They will therefore accumulate CO2 and have a respiratory acidosis. BUT because they stop breathing (and cause they're ludicrously ischaemic from no heart pumping), they also become hypoxic. Anaerobic metabolism ensues and lactic acid accumulates. They will then develop a metabolic acidosis, saturating all the available bicarb with a proton blitz - leading to a mixed acidosis which messes with everyone's minds.
Holy crap! Amazing.
