Chloride (Cl)

A chloride blood test (serum chloride) measures the chloride level in blood.

Chloride is one of the electrolytes in the blood. Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge when they are dissolved in a liquid. The electrolytes in blood — chloride, sodium, potassium and bicarbonate — help control nerve and muscle function and maintain the acid-base balance (pH balance) of blood and your water balance.

The amount of chloride in blood is often measured along with other electrolytes to diagnose or monitor certain medical conditions, including:

Kidney disease.

Heart failure.

Liver disease.

High blood pressure.

Normal Results

A typical normal range is 96 to 106 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) or 96 to 106 millimoles per liter (mmol/L).

Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results.

The example above shows the common measurement range for results for these tests. Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens.

What Abnormal Results Mean

A greater-than-normal level of chloride is called hyperchloremia. It may be due to:

Addison disease

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (used to treat glaucoma)

Diarrhea

Ethylene glycol poisoning

Ketoacidosis

Kidney disease

Lactic acidosis

Metabolic acidosis

Methanol poisoning

Renal tubular acidosis - distal

Renal tubular acidosis - proximal

Respiratory alkalosis (compensated)

Salicylate toxicity (such as aspirin overdose)

Ureteral diversion

A lower-than-normal level of chloride is called hypochloremia. It may be due to:

Bartter syndrome (a condition in which your kidney has trouble reabsorbing salt and other electrolytes)

Addison's disease (insufficient levels of the hormones cortisol and sometimes aldosterone due to primary adrenal insufficiency)

Burns

Congestive heart failure (your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs)

Cushing's syndrome (too much cortisol in your body due to defective adrenal glands)

Dehydration

Excessive sweating

Hyperaldosteronism (too much of the hormone aldosterone as a result of damaged adrenal glands)

Metabolic alkalosis (a condition that raises the pH of blood above the normal range)

Respiratory acidosis (your lungs don't clear enough carbon dioxide from your blood, making your blood too acidic)

Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) (conditions that cause too much water to build up in your body)

Ongoing vomiting

1.       https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/tests/chloride-test-blood#:~:text=A%20typical%20normal%20range%20is,of%20your%20specific%20test%20results.

2.       https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/22023-chloride-blood-test

3.       https://www.verywellhealth.com/chloride-blood-test-7643997