Profound Acidosis Resulting from Excessive Ammonium Chloride in Previously Healthy Subjects

AMMONIUM chloride has been widely used as a therapeutic agent ever since its introduction by Keith, Barrier and Whelan1 in 1925. Given intermittently for a few days at a time, it has a slight diuretic effect that is sometimes useful in the treatment of relatively mild degrees of fluid retention. More potent diuretics for oral use have recently become available,2 but ammonium chloride is still in general use, not only as a diuretic agent but also as an acidifying agent that appears to potentiate the action of mercurials and may be used to prevent or treat mercurial-induced hypochloremic alkalosis. It . . .