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Metabolic alkalosis is an acid-base disorder in which the pH of tissue is elevated beyond the normal range (7.35–7.45). This is the result of decreased hydrogen ion concentration, leading to increased bicarbonate ( HCO − 3 ), or alternatively a direct result of increased bicarbonate concentrations.
Metabolic alkalosis can be caused by repeated vomiting, [2] resulting in a loss of hydrochloric acid in the stomach contents. Severe dehydration, and the consumption of alkali, [3] are other causes. It can also be caused by administration of diuretics [2] and endocrine disorders such as Cushing's syndrome.
In general, the cause of a hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis is a loss of base, either a gastrointestinal loss or a renal loss [citation needed]. Gastrointestinal loss of bicarbonate (HCO − 3) [citation needed] Severe diarrhea (vomiting will tend to cause hypochloraemic alkalosis) Pancreatic fistula with loss of bicarbonate rich pancreatic fluid
Recall that the relationship represented in a Davenport diagram is a relationship between three variables: P CO 2, bicarbonate concentration and pH.Thus, Fig. 7 can be thought of as a topographical map—that is, a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional surface—where each isopleth indicates a different partial pressure or “altitude.”
Diagnosis of contraction alkalosis is made by correlating laboratory data with clinical history and examination. Metabolic alkalosis in the presence of decreased effective circulatory volume, loop diuretic use, or other causes of intravascular depletion such as profound diarrhea should raise suspicion for contraction alkalosis as a likely etiology in the absence of other causes.
Milk-alkali syndrome is an illness that is characterized by hypercalcaemia, kidney damage, and metabolic alkalosis. [17] This syndrome was discovered in the early 1900s when people began experiencing adverse effects from Bertrand Sippy's gastric ulcer treatment consisting of milk and alkali.
The use of acidosis for a low pH creates an ambiguity in its meaning. The difference is important where a patient has factors causing both acidosis and alkalosis, wherein the relative severity of both determines whether the result is a high, low, or normal pH. [citation needed] Alkalemia occurs at a pH over 7.45.
When this happens the numerator is large, the denominator is small, and the result is a delta ratio which is high (>2). This means a combined high anion gap metabolic acidosis and a pre-existing either respiratory acidosis or metabolic alkalosis (causing the high bicarbonate) – i.e. a mixed acid–base metabolic acidosis. [citation needed]