Purpose: To use the anion gap to to identify a patient with an electrolyte imbalance.			Citations with documentation. 13.01	Sriram & Svirbely 1997
conversion	enter
sodium or potassium in mmol/L		mmol/L equals		mEq/L
chloride or bicarbonate in mmol/L		mmol/L equals		mEq/L
data	enter
serum sodium in mEq/L		mEq/L
serum potassium in mEq/L		mEq/L
serum chloride in mEq/L		mEq/L
serum bicarbonate in mEq/L		mEq/L
calculated	results
data complete?	Yes
anion gap (calculated)	24	mEq/L
result is:	increased
	Possible Causes for Anion Gap Seen		diabetic ketoacidosis
	low potassium		uremic acidosis
	low calcium		methanol
	low magnesium		ethanol
	hyperalbuminemia		ethylene glycol
	high phosphorus		lactic acidosis
	lab error		sulfate administration