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Delta Ratio Mixed Acidosis CKD Diagnosis — ESENeph MCQ

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HardAcid-BaseDelta Ratio Mixed Acidosis CKD DiagnosisESENeph

A patient has anion gap 14 mmol/L and bicarbonate 14 mmol/L. Using normal values 12 and 24, what does the delta ratio show?

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Correct answer: DA ratio near 0.2, suggesting an additional normal-gap metabolic acidosis

The best answer is “A ratio near 0.2, suggesting an additional normal-gap metabolic acidosis”. Delta anion gap is 2 and delta bicarbonate is 10, so the ratio is 0.2. Bicarbonate has fallen far more than the gap has risen, identifying a concurrent hyperchloraemic process. “A ratio near 2.0, supporting an isolated high-gap metabolic acidosis” is less appropriate because the numerator is 2 and denominator is 10 “A ratio above 2.0, suggesting an additional metabolic alkalosis” is less appropriate because the arithmetic gives a value well below 1 “A ratio near 1.0, compatible with a predominantly high-gap acidosis” is less appropriate because the measured changes are not equal “An indeterminate ratio because the required baseline values are unavailable” is less appropriate because those are exactly the values used

Reference: KDIGO 2024 CKD guideline: https://kdigo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KDIGO-2024-CKD-Guideline.pdf