Pediat. Res. 9: 767-773 (1975) Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase renal t u b u l a r acidosis, bicarbonate wasting deficiency renal t u b u l a r acidosis, classic distal inner e a r deafness renal t u b u l a r acidosis, transient distal Lightwood's s y n d r o m e
Persistent and Transient Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis withBicarbonate Wasting Bicarbonate titration studies were performed on two patients with bicarbonate wasting distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA; patients I and 2 ) and on three patients (3. 4, and 5 ) with classic distal RTA. Daily requirements of alkali were 4.5 mEq/kg body wt in patient I . a 3-year-old boy, and 16 mEq/kg in patient 2, a 5-month-old male infant. In contrast, only 1.5-2 mEq/kg/24 hr alkali were required in the three patients with classic distal RTA (age 8%-22 years). Patier~t I had glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and oarietrt 3 had inner ear deafness as an associated anomalv. In patietit 2. the acidification defect was transient.Mean fractional excretion of bicarbonate (C,,,.,,,-/C,,) x 100 at a plasma concentration of H C O , below 20 mmol/liter was 5.1% in patient 1, 11.6% in patient 2, and 1.7% inpatients 3-5. Minimal urine pH during the study was 7.38 in patient 1. 7.66 in patient 2. and 6.78-6.97 in the other patients. Values of net acid excretion at plasma HCO, = 16 mmol/liter were strongly negative in patients 1 and 2 ( -7 5 and -195 pmol/lOO ml glomerular filtrate (GF), respectively) but slightly positive in the three patients with classic RTA ( + 3 to +20 Fmol/lOO ml GF).The two patients with bicarbonate wasting distal RTA were thus clearly separated from the group of patients with classic distal RTA.
SpeculationBicarbonate wasting in distal RTA could be the result of an additional defect of the proximal nephron or of a distal defect which is more severe than in classic distal RTA. The transient variant might correspond to Lightwood's syndrome of "transient infantile RTA."Renal tubular acidosis is a clinical syndrome characterized by inability of the renal tubules to excrete adequate amounts of acid in the urine (in the absence of uremia). Two different types have been distinguished on clinical and physiologic grounds. In the classic distal type (type I). first described by Butler er a / . (4) and later by Albright et a / . ( I ) , clinical manifestations usually begin in the second year of life and nephrocalcinosis is often present. The urinary pH never falls below 6.2. Urinary losses of bicarbonate are low. however, and metabolic acidosis is corrected easily by oral doses of alkali (1-2 mEq/kg body wt/24 hr), correspondin_e roughly to the amount of nonvolatile acid generated daily. The second, of proximal type (type 11) of RTA has been characterized more recently (32,33). Excretion of bicarbonate in the urine is considerable. but normal urinary acidification (pH < 5.0) is