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anion gap |
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gap (gap) an unoccupied interval in time; an opening or hiatus. air-bone gap the lag between the audiographic curves for air- and bone-conducted stimuli, as an indication of loss of bone conduction of the ear. anion gap the concentration of plasma anions not routinely measured by laboratory screening, accounting for the difference between the measured anions and cations. auscultatory gap a period in which sound is not heard in the auscultatory method of sphygmomanometry. interocclusal gap see under distance.
anion gap, the difference between the concentrations of serum or plasma cations and anions, determined by measuring the concentrations of sodium cations and chloride and bicarbonate anions. It is helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of acidosis, and it is estimated by subtracting the sum of chloride and bicarbonate concentrations in the plasma from that of sodium. It is normally about 8 to 14 mEq/L and represents the negative charges contributed to plasma by unmeasured ions or ions other than those of chloride and bicarbonate, mainly phosphate, sulfate, organic acids, and plasma proteins. Anions other than chloride and bicarbonate normally constitute about 12 mEq/L of the total anion concentration in plasma. Acidosis can develop with or without an associated anion increase. An increase in the anion gap often suggests diabetic ketoacidosis, drug poisoning, renal failure, or lactic acidosis and usually warrants further laboratory tests. anion gap method used to evaluate a patient's acid-base status; based on the observation that the sum of blood cations (sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate ions) usually exceeds the sum of the anions (sulfates, phosphates, proteinates, organic acid ions); the difference between the two is the anion gap. Significant departure from the normal level of difference indicates acid-base disturbance. anion gap Lab medicine A mathematic approximation of the difference between unmeasured anions–PO4–, SO4–, proteins and organic acids, and unmeasured cations-Ca2+, Mg2+, which normally exceed unmeasured
cations; the AG is the difference between the sum of the most abundant measured serum anions–Cl– and HCO3– and serum cations–Na+ and K+; urinary AG is calculated as Na+ + K+ – Cl– and is a crude index
of the levels of urinary ammonium and used to evaluate hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis Ref range 8-16 mEq/L; AG is ↑ in renal failure due to defective renal tubular acidification with an ↑ in phosphate and sulfate, starvation-related DKA
due to an accumulation of acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate or alcohol abuse, in disorders of amino acid metabolism and hyperglycemic nonketotic coma due to various organic acids, in lactic acidosis, overdose or poisoning—eg salicylates,
methanol ethylene glycol antifreeze or paraldehyde; AG is ↓ in hypermagnesemia, GI loss of bicarbonate, in nephrotic syndrome due to a loss of albumin which is anionic at a physiological pH, after lithium ingestion, and multiple myeloma and
Waldenström's macroglobinemia, due to an ↑ in cationic proteins How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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3 mmol/L, chloride 99 mmol/L, and bicarbonate 14 mmol/L, with an anion gap of 17. Lactic acidosis is characterized by elevated blood lactate levels (greater than 5 mmol/L), decreased pH, electrolyte disturbances with an increased anion gap, and an increased lactate/pyruvate ratio. |
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