Low Bicarbonate in CKD Patients Linked with Premature Death.

Patients with CKD who had a serum bicarbonate level below 22 mM had a nearly 2.6 times increased risk of premature death compared with those who had a level of 26 to 30 mM (reference category), investigators reported in a recent Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation article. The findings come from data pertaining to 15,836 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. Participants were placed into four serum bicarbonate categories: less than 22 mM, 22 to 25 mM, 26 to 30 mM, and 31 mM or greater.