Hyperphosphatemia in Lactic Acidosis

Abstract

The initial clue to the presence of lactic acidosis is usually a physical sign such as Kussmaul breathing, a sudden change in mental status or the complex of signs associated with shock. Often it is an "out-of-limits" value reported by the laboratory, such as low blood pH or low serum bicarbonate. Occasionally, the diagnosis will be sought when circumstance and the history suggest it — for example, in the diabetic patient who deteriorates suddenly on phenformin or is found to be acidemic but not ketonemic.In 1966 Tranquada, in a report from this institution, noted that serum inorganic phosphorus was . . .