Just like potassium, sodium and calcium, chloride is an important electrolyte that is involved in the body's everyday metabolic processes. It is present in the body with a negative charge and is also known as an anion. Chloride plays a key role in controlling the heart, transmitting nerve stimuli and controlling the water balance.
Furthermore, the chloride plays an important role in regulating the Acid-base household attributed. Chloride is absorbed with food, mostly in the form of table salt (NaCl), and is excreted again via the kidneys after it has fulfilled its metabolic tasks. A diet that is very low in sodium usually also leads to a lack of sodium and chloride.
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Chloride is in the serum of patients by a Blood test certainly. The norm value in most laboratories is between 96 and 110 mmol / l. Here the values differ a little from laboratory to laboratory on the one hand, and whether adults or children are examined on the other. In children, the normal chloride value in the serum is between 95 and 112 mmol / l. Read more about the topic here Laboratory values.
There are some circumstances and diseases in which an increased level of chloride in the blood serum can be detected. Most of the time, minor chloride deficiencies do not cause any complaints. However, the stronger the deficiency, the stronger the symptoms.
The first symptoms people with a severe chloride deficiency experience are malaise and Nausea, sometimes vomiting. Furthermore, the metabolic processes in the body, for which chloride is necessary, no longer run as smoothly. Above all that should be mentioned Transmission of stimuli in the heartwhat to moderate to strong Cardiac arrhythmias can lead
There are numerous diseases in which the Acid-base balance imbalances in the body and in which the blood chloride level increases. The so-called renal tubular acidosis is an example of a disease with increased chloride levels. She comes at Kidney disease and inflammation of the kidney Diabetes mellitus, after ureter operations or due to genetic causes.
Furthermore can also Autoimmune diseases lead to an imbalance in electrolytes with an increase in chloride in the blood.
Central nervous system disorders also lead to an increased chloride value as well as the so-called Hyperventilationwhere the patient inhales and exhales faster than usual and normal gas exchange no longer takes place in the lungs. This causes chloride to accumulate in the blood. Also at fever chloride can increase, but most often not so high that it would cause symptoms. At chronic diarrhea the chloride level in the blood can also rise.
There are also some drugs that can have the same effect in the blood. So-called carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which are used in epilepsy or at glaucoma used can lead to an imbalance of the electrolytes and also of the chloride. With the rather rare drug administration of bromide there is also an increase in chloride in the blood. There are also some drugs that contain chloride that increase the level of chloride in the blood. In most cases, the chloride is more of a carrier substance for a normal drug. Ammonium chloride, arginine chloride or lysine chloride should be mentioned here.
A decreased level of chloride in the blood is more common than an increase, but causes similar symptoms. Here, too, minimally reduced chloride levels do not trigger any symptoms and the first symptoms only arise when the level of chloride is low for a longer period of time. Here, too, nausea and vomiting are very common, as well as headaches, dizziness, malaise and palpitations. Often there is seldom an isolated chloride deficiency. Much more common is a lack of all electrolytes.
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$config[ads_text3] not foundHere you will also find information about more Electrolytes in the blood.
Quite often, frequent and severe vomiting leads to a lack of chloride in the blood. The reason is that when you vomit, important electrolytes such as sodium and chloride leave the body and can no longer be supplied again as quickly through eating or drinking. Many patients who have a severe gastrointestinal infection have to be treated with infusions so that they do not lose too many nutrients and electrolytes.
A hormone-related chloride deficiency comes from the Hyperaldosteronism where the body makes too much aldosterone. At the Cushing's disease too much cortisone is released into the body, which can also lead to a reduced level of chloride in the blood serum. So-called ACTH-forming tumors, which can also lead to a chloride deficiency via complex hormone control processes, are rather rare. Medicinally, all substances that have washout properties can lead to a chloride deficiency.
The furosemide or torasemide prescribed as a water tablet can cause a chloride, sodium and potassium deficiency via the increased excretion of water via the kidneys. Patients who e.g. Lying in the intensive care unit and being fed via a gastric tube can also have a very low chloride level if they are in bed for a long time. The most common cause of serum chloride deficiency is profuse sweating and decreased drinking.
In principle, the first thing to do is to find out where this reduced value comes from. The triggering causes must then be switched off or reduced. In the event of a slight to moderate chloride deficiency, you should then check whether the chloride value stabilizes and rises again on its own. If this is not possible, additional chloride should be added. This is usually done by administering salt tablets (NaCl). If this is not enough, an infusion can ensure that chloride is supplied to the body over a foreseeable period.
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