University of Maryland School of Medicine logo
Emergency Medicine
All Departments
UMSOM Assistant
UMEM Educational Pearls
  • Home
  • Departments
  • Emergency Medicine
  • CME
  • UMEM Educational Pearls
  • CME
  • Courses and Conferences
  • Free Open Access Medical Education
  • UMEM Educational Pearls

Search

Title: Bicarbonate for metabolic acidosis

Category: Critical Care

Keywords: Bicarbonate, metabolic acidosis (PubMed Search)

Posted: 5/26/2026 by Quincy Tran, MD, PhD

Sodium bicarbonate significantly reduced the need of renal replacement therapy (risk ratio [RR] 0.69; 95% CI, 0.61–0.78) but not mortality (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.55–1.30). However, there was not enough sample size to support the outcome of mortality.

There was still significant heterogeneity between studies as the sources of metabolic acidosis were different between different studies in this meta-analysis study of randomized control trial. One study recruited patients with septic shock only, while other studies enrolled patients with different disease states.
There was also heterogeneity in the threshold for pH to enter the study.

References

Sodium Bicarbonate for Acute Metabolic Acidosis in Critically Ill Adults: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Chen, Jia-Jin MD; Lee, Tao-Han MD; Chang, Chih-Hsiang MD, PhD, Lai, Pei-Chun MD, PhD; Tu, Yu-Kang PhD; Huang, Yen-Ta MD, MSc, PhD. Critical Care Medicine ():10.1097/CCM.0000000000007179, May 22, 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000007179


University of Maryland School of Medicine logo
  • Departments
  • Programs
  • Research Centers
  • Institutes
  • Graduate Education
  • CIBR Cores
  • Offices of the Dean
    • University of Maryland, Baltimore
    • University of Maryland Medical Center
    • Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland
    • Health Sciences and Human Services Library
University of Maryland School of Medicine
655 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Contact Us

© University of Maryland School of Medicine

    • Webmaster
    • Web Accessibility
    • Site Index
    • UMB Hotline
    • Employment
    • Map