Abstract

From a previous study it was concluded that intravenous infusion of sodium fluoride (NaF) in rats is a suitable model to study the toxicity of hydrofluoric acid. In this supplementary study we investigated the effect of intravenous infusion of a high and low dose of NaF (120 and 25 mg.kg -1.hr -1) on the plasma concentration of lactate, magnesium, potassium and inorganic phosphate. As compared to the control groups an increase of the lactate concentration in plasma was found, mainly in the terminal phase of the NaF infusion period. This indicates that the decrease of base excess which is frequently found in fluoride intoxications, is caused by tissue hypoxia following impaired circulation. The magnesium concentration in plasma decreased steadily during both NaF infusions. Because magnesium ions have an essential role in many enzymatic processes and because changes of the magnesium concentration in plasma exert hemodynamical effects further studies into the consequences of these finding seem justified. In the terminal stage of NaF infusion hyperkalemia was observed. From our experiments it is unclear whether this rise of the potassium concentration is due to fluoride itself, the treatment-induced acidosis, or that cell necrosis due to hypoperfusion is responsible for this increase.