Is Sodium Bicarbonate Therapy Still Up To Date?

Sodium bicarbonate (SB), which has a vital role in the regulation of acid-base balance of all tissues and organs, is one of the most important buffering systems of the body. SB plays an important role in the treatment of poisoning caused by numerous agents including mainly salicylate and tricyclic antidepressants. In metabolic acidosis (MA) occurred in patient with systemic and metabolic diseases, first, the primary disease should be treated and in the case of low bicarbonate levels such as diarrhea and renal tubular acidosis, missing SB should be recovered. As the kidney has an important role in acid-base balance, SB is widely used in the treatment of acute and chronic renal failure. Although there is no conclusive evidence to prevent contrast nephropathy, SB comes to the fore compared to other agents. SB is used due to MA and its effects occurring in acute renal failure. In addition, SB treatment applied to reduce the increased acid levels in chronic kidney failure may reduce mortality. While SB can be used as individualized in lactic acidosis and cardiac arrest cases, it can be used safely as a performance enhancer for athletes. SB is used widely in gastrointestinal tract diseases due to its antacid effects and its routine use is not recommended in diabetic ketoacidosis. These data demonstrate that SB is still popular and it will retain its popularity in the near future