The Medical Media Review

Tag: High anion gap metabolic acidosis

  • How to Solve Triple Acid-Base Problems Quickly in Your Head

    How to Solve Triple Acid-Base Problems Quickly in Your Head

    Introduction You can solve triple acid-base problems with basic arithmetic and straightforward logic. As an example, let’s work through the following rather classic triple acid-base problem: An afebrile, atraumatic 26-year-old male with no past medical history is brought to the emergency department because of a three hour history of altered mental status, vomiting and vertigo. The physical examination is…

  • How to Spot a Falsely Normal Anion Gap

    Introduction A high anion gap metabolic acidosis can be a very dangerous acid-base abnormality. The “gap” itself is just a number – it isn’t harmful per se. Rather, the danger is from the acidosis and from the process that is generating the abnormal and excessive organic acid load. The most common screening test for high anion gap…

  • Acid-Base Abnormalities and Their Causes

    Introduction Acid-Base pathophysiology plays an important role in every aspect of medical practice, including psychiatry. Doctors and medical students need to know, both for real life and for examinations, the predicted acid base disorder of various diseases. It is much easier to interpret ABGs when you know ahead of time what to expect: So let’s start…