Question

A baby is admitted to the hospital with a history of diarrhea and watery feces occurring over the last three days. The baby has sunken fontanels, indicating extreme dehydration. On examination, the baby is found to have a bacterium induced colitis, and antibiotics are prescribed. Because of the baby's loss of intestinal juices, do you think that his blood would indicate acidosis or alkalosis? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

The baby’s blood would indicate acidosis, due to the intestinal juice passing through the large intestine with little or no time for re-absorption of water and substances such as bicarbonate ions dissolved in water by the large intestine.