Not to be confused with hyperphosphatemia (high levels in the blood).
Hypophosphatemia
Other names
Low blood phosphate, phosphate deficiency
Phosphate group chemical structure
Specialty
Endocrinology
Symptoms
Weakness, trouble breathing, loss of appetite[1]
Complications
Seizures, coma, rhabdomyolysis, softening of the bones[1]
Causes
Alcoholism, refeeding in those with malnutrition, hyperventilation, diabetic ketoacidosis, burns, certain medications[1]
Diagnostic method
Blood phosphate < 0.81 mmol/L (2.5 mg/dL)[1]
Treatment
Based on the underlying cause, phosphate[1][2]
Frequency
2% (people in hospital)[1]
Hypophosphatemia is an electrolyte disorder in which there is a low level of phosphate in the blood.[1] Symptoms may include weakness, trouble breathing, and loss of appetite.[1] Complications may include seizures, coma, rhabdomyolysis, or softening of the bones.[1]
Causes include alcoholism, refeeding in those with malnutrition, diabetic ketoacidosis, burns, hyperventilation, and certain medications.[1] It may also occur in the setting of hyperparathyroidism, hypothyroidism, and Cushing syndrome.[1] It is diagnosed based on a blood phosphate concentration of less than 0.81 mmol/L (2.5 mg/dL).[1] When levels are below 0.32 mmol/L (1.0 mg/dL) it is deemed to be severe.[2]
Treatment depends on the underlying cause.[1] Phosphate may be given by mouth or by injection into a vein.[1] Hypophosphatemia occurs in about 2% of people within hospital and 70% of people in the intensive care unit (ICU).[1][3]
Contents
1Signs and symptoms
2Causes
3Pathophysiology
4Diagnosis
5Treatment
6See also
7References
8External links
Signs and symptoms
Muscle dysfunction and weakness – This occurs in major muscles, but also may manifest as: diplopia, low cardiac output, dysphagia, and respiratory depression due to respiratory muscle weakness.
Mental status changes – This may range from irritability to gross confusion, delirium, and coma.
White blood cell dysfunction, causing worsening of infections.
Instability of cell membranes due to low adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels – This may cause rhabdomyolysis with increased serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, and also hemolytic anemia.
Increased affinity for oxygen in the blood caused by decreased production of 2,3-bisphosphoglyceric acid.
Large pulp chambers in the teeth.[citation needed]
Causes
Refeeding syndrome – This causes a demand for phosphate in cells due to the action of hexokinase, an enzyme that attaches phosphate to glucose to begin metabolism of glucose. Also, production of ATP when cells are fed and recharge their energy supplies requires phosphate.
Respiratory alkalosis – Any alkalemic condition moves phosphate out of the blood into cells. This includes most common respiratory alkalemia (a higher than normal blood pH from low carbon dioxide levels in the blood), which in turn is caused by any hyperventilation (such as may result from sepsis, fever, pain, anxiety, drug withdrawal, and many other causes). This phenomenon is seen because in respiratory alkalosis carbon dioxide (CO2) decreases in the extracellular space, causing intracellular CO2 to freely diffuse out of the cell. This drop in intracellular CO2 causes a rise in cellular pH which has a stimulating effect on glycolysis. Since the process of glycolysis requires phosphate (the end product is adenosine triphosphate), the result is a massive uptake of phosphate into metabolically active tissue (such as muscle) from the serum. However, that this effect is not seen in metabolic alkalosis, for in such cases the cause of the alkalosis is increased bicarbonate rather than decreased CO2. Bicarbonate, unlike CO2, has poor diffusion across the cellular membrane and therefore there is little change in intracellular pH.[4]
Metabolic acidosis
Alcohol abuse – Alcohol impairs phosphate absorption. Alcoholics are usually also malnourished with regard to minerals. In addition, alcohol treatment is associated with refeeding, and the stress of alcohol withdrawal may create respiratory alkalosis, which exacerbates hypophosphatemia (see above).
Malabsorption – This includes gastrointestinal damage, and also failure to absorb phosphate due to lack of vitamin D, or chronic use of phosphate binders such as sucralfate, aluminum-containing antacids, and (more rarely) calcium-containing antacids.
Primary hypophosphatemia is the most common cause of non-nutritional rickets. Laboratory findings include low-normal serum calcium, moderately low serum phosphate, elevated serum alkaline phosphatase, and low serum 1,25 dihydroxy-vitamin D levels, hyperphosphaturia, and no evidence of hyperparathyroidism.[5]
Hypophosphatemia decreases 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) causing a left shift in the oxyhemoglobin curve.[citation needed]
Other rarer causes include:
Certain blood cancers such as lymphoma or leukemia
Hereditary causes
Liver failure
Tumor-induced osteomalacia[citation needed]
Pathophysiology
Hypophosphatemia is caused by the following three mechanisms:
Inadequate intake (often unmasked in refeeding after long-term low phosphate intake)
Increased excretion (e.g. in hyperparathyroidism, hypophosphatemic rickets)
Shift of phosphorus from the extracellular to the intracellular space.[clarification needed] This can be seen in treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis, refeeding, short-term increases in cellular demand (e.g. hungry bone syndrome) and acute respiratory alkalosis.[citation needed]
Diagnosis
Hypophosphatemia is diagnosed by measuring the concentration of phosphate in the blood. Concentrations of phosphate less than 0.81 mmol/L (2.5 mg/dL) are considered diagnostic of hypophosphatemia, though additional tests may be needed to identify the underlying cause of the disorder.[6]
Treatment
Standard intravenous preparations of potassium phosphate are available and are routinely used in malnourished people and alcoholics. Supplementation by mouth is also useful where no intravenous treatment are available. Historically one of the first demonstrations of this was in people in concentration camp who died soon after being re-fed: it was observed that those given milk (high in phosphate) had a higher survival rate than those who did not get milk.[citation needed]
Monitoring parameters during correction with IV phosphate[7]
Phosphorus levels should be monitored after 2 to 4 hours after each dose, also monitor serum potassium, calcium and magnesium. Cardiac monitoring is also advised.[citation needed]
See also
X-linked hypophosphatemia
References
^ abcdefghijklmno"Hypophosphatemia". Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
^ abAdams, James G. (2012). Emergency Medicine: Clinical Essentials (Expert Consult - Online and Print). Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 1416. ISBN 1455733946.
^Yunen, Jose R. (2012). The 5-Minute ICU Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 152. ISBN 9781451180534.
^O'Brien, Thomas M; Coberly, LeAnn (2003). "Severe Hypophosphatemia in Respiratory Alkalosis" (PDF). Advanced Studies in Medicine. 3 (6): 347.
^Toy, Girardet, Hormann, Lahoti, McNeese, Sanders, and Yetman. Case Files: Pediatrics, Second Edition. 2007. McGraw Hill.
^"Hypophosphatemia - Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders - Merck Manuals Professional Edition". Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^Shajahan, A., Ajith Kumar, J., Gireesh Kumar, K. P., Sreekrishnan, T. P. and Jismy, K. (2015), Managing hypophosphatemia in critically ill patients: a report on an under-diagnosed electrolyte anomaly. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. doi: 10.1111/jcpt.12264
External links
Classification
D
ICD-10: E83.3
ICD-9-CM: 275.3
MeSH: D017674
DiseasesDB: 6503
External resources
MedlinePlus: 000307
eMedicine: med/1135
Patient UK:
Hypophosphatemia
v
t
e
Inborn error of metal metabolism (E83, 275)
Transition metal
Fe
excess:
Primary iron overload disorder: Hemochromatosis/HFE1
Juvenile/HFE2
HFE3
African iron overload/HFE4
Aceruloplasminemia
Atransferrinemia
Hemosiderosis
deficiency:
Iron deficiency
Cu
excess:
Copper toxicity
Wilson's disease
deficiency:
Copper deficiency
Menkes disease/Occipital horn syndrome
Zn
excess:
Zinc toxicity
deficiency:
Acrodermatitis enteropathica
Electrolyte
Na+ and K+
see Template:Water-electrolyte imbalance and acid-base imbalance
5. 遺伝性低リン血症性くる病と腫瘍誘発性骨軟化症 hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets and tumor induced osteomalacia
English Journal
Electrolyte Imbalance in Patients with Sheehan's Syndrome.
Lim CH1, Han JH1, Jin J1, Yu JE1, Chung JO2, Cho DH1, Chung DJ1, Chung MY1.
Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea).Endocrinol Metab (Seoul).2015 Oct 20. [Epub ahead of print]
BACKGROUND: We investigated the prevalence of electrolyte imbalance and the relationship between serum electrolyte and anterior pituitary hormone levels in patients with Sheehan's syndrome.METHODS: In a retrospective study, we investigated 78 patients with Sheehan's syndrome. We also included 95 nor
A LC-MS method to quantify tenofovir urinary concentrations in treated patients.
Simiele M1, Carcieri C2, De Nicolò A1, Ariaudo A1, Sciandra M1, Calcagno A1, Bonora S1, Di Perri G1, D'Avolio A3.
Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis.J Pharm Biomed Anal.2015 Oct 10;114:8-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2015.05.001. Epub 2015 May 8.
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is a prodrug of tenofovir used in the treatment of HIV and HBV infections: it is the most used antiretroviral worldwide. Tenofovir is nucleotidic HIV reverse trascriptase inhibitor that showed excellent long-term efficacy and tolerability. However renal and bone complic
The International journal of eating disorders.Int J Eat Disord.2015 Oct 8. doi: 10.1002/eat.22472. [Epub ahead of print]
OBJECTIVE: Refeeding in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with a risk of refeeding syndrome, which is a disruption in metabolism with a variety of features including hypophosphatemia. We evaluated the risk factors for refeeding hypophosphatemia (RH) during nutritional replenishment i