Issue: 2008 > September > case report

Guilty as charged: unmeasured urinary anions in a case of pyroglutamic acidosis



CASE REPORT
E.J. Rolleman, E.J. Hoorn, P. Didden, R. Zietse
AbstractPDF

Abstract

A patient developed an unexplained metabolic acidosis with the characteristics of renal tubular acidosis. By correcting the serum anion gap for hypoalbuminaemia and analysing the urinary anions and cations, the presence of unmeasured anions was revealed. The diagnosis of pyroglutamic acidosis, caused by a combination of flucloxacillin and acetaminophen, was established. Strategies for solving complex cases of metabolic acidosis are discussed.