• Laura B Galinko, Steven H Hsu, Cosmin Gauran, Michael L Fingerhood, Stephen M Pastores, Neil A Halpern, and Sanjay Chawla.
• Laura B. Galinko is an anesthesiology resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. At the time of this case report, Steven H. Hsu was a critical care medicine fellow and Michael L. Fingerhood was a pulmonary medicine fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. Cosmin Gauran is an assistant attending, Stephen M. Pastores is the critical care fellowship director, and Neil A. Halpern is the director of the Critical Care Center, and Sanjay Chawla is an associate attending in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 2017 Nov 1; 26 (6): 491494491-494.

AbstractBaking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a common household item that has gained popularity as an alternative cancer treatment. Some have speculated that alkali therapy neutralizes the extracellular acidity of tumor cells that promotes metastases. Internet blogs have touted alkali as a safe and natural alternative to chemotherapy that targets cancer cells without systemic effects. Sodium bicarbonate overdose is uncommon, with few reports of toxic effects in humans. The case described here is the first reported case of severe metabolic alkalosis related to topical use of sodium bicarbonate as a treatment for cancer. This case highlights how a seemingly benign and readily available product can have potentially lethal consequences.©2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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