A short communication. Congenital renal alkalosis

Patients with idiopathic hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis and hyperrenienmia have been lumped under the heading of Bartter's syndrome. However, the clinical picture is not totally uniform. Recently, Gullner et al. described a familial disorder with hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, hyperreninemia, and aldosteronism, but without juxtaglomerular hyperplasia. They suggested that this family had a condition other than Bartter's syndrome. The present report details the followup from infancy to adulthood of a patient with hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, salt wasting, and hyperreninemia, but with normal aldosterone level and without juxtaglomerular hyperplasia. The authors suggest that this new condition be termed renal alkalosis. The studies suggest that the distal tubular reabsorptive capacity was defective in this patient.