ABSTRACT
Chloride-depletion alkalosis (CDA) is the most common form of metabolic alkalosis. It is caused by depletion of body chloride stores and can be corrected solely by a sufficient amount of any chloride-containing compound. The term is synonymous with chloride-responsive alkalosis but serves to emphasize the underlying pathophysiology of all of the etiologies grouped under this rubric. CDA may occur together with other causes of metabolic alkalosis, most commonly Kþ depletion (see Chapter 18). As with other types of metabolic alkalosis, CDA may be divided into three phases: generation, maintenance, and correction (1). During the maintenance phase, low or absent urine Cl marks its salient feature (2,3) unless concomitant diuretic administration or severe Kþ depletion has impaired renal tubule function to the extent that Cl cannot be appropriately conserved (4).
