A rapid intravenous phosphate replacement protocol for critically ill patients.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: There is a high incidence of hypophosphataemia in the critically ill. It is known that even moderate hypophosphataemia can produce a variety of adverse consequences. Many phosphate replacement regimens have been suggested, most are conservative and few validated in the critical care environment. We designed a study to determine the apparent volume of distribution of phosphate and quantify phosphate loss in critically ill patients following rapid phosphate infusion. With these data we sought to design a phosphate replacement protocol. METHODS: A prospective clinical study of an infusion of 14.5 mmol of phosphate ions over 1 hour in seven patients with mild, moderate or severe hypop..