Review
Changes in plasma potassium concentration during acute acid-base disturbances

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Abstract

It has been widely held that the changes in plasma potassium concentration observed during acute acid-base disorders are solely determined by the associated changes in blood acidity. However, a critical examination of the literature uncovers wide differences among the four cardinal acid-base disorders with respect to the associated changes in plasma potassium concentration. In fact, the data suggest that a host of factors other than the attendant changes in plasma hydrogen ion concentration may well modulate the intercompartmental distribution of body potassium during acid-base disorders. In this study we review the qualitative, quantitative and mechanistic aspects of the plasma potassium response to acute alterations in blood acidity.

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    This study was supported in part by Grant HL-00759 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Grant AM-07078 from the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Disease.

    1

    From the Departments of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, and the Renal Services, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas.

    2

    From the New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.

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