A patient with an excessive intake of a halide such as bromide, fluoride or iodide may present with apparent hyperchloremia and a negative anion gap.
Methods of determining chloride that may give falsely high readings in the presence of a halide:
(1) ion specific electrode
(2) thiocyanate method
Clinical findings:
(1) apparent hyperchloremia
(2) low or negative anion gap (while the instrument may be fooled, the body is not)
(3) history of bromide, iodide or fluoride intake/exposure (which may need to be specifically looked for)
(4) presence of the halide on specific assay
The presence of unexplained hyperchloremia should prompt a search for occult halide exposure.
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Specialty: Endocrinology, Clinical Laboratory
ICD-10: ,
