There is a complex interplay between changes in acid–base components and inflammation. This manuscript aims to explore associations between plasma cytokines and chemokines and acid–base status on admission to intensive care.

We conducted a prospective cohort study in a 13-bed ICU in a tertiary-care center in Brazil. 87 unselected patients admitted to the ICU during a 2-year period were included. We measured multiple inflammatory mediators in plasma using multiplex assays and evaluated the association between mediator concentrations and acid–base variables using a variety of statistical modeling approaches, including generalized linear models, multiadaptive regression splines and principal component analysis.

We found a positive association between strong ion gap (SIG) and plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)6, 8, 10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF); whereas albumin was negatively associated with IL6, IL7, IL8, IL10, TNF and interferon (IFN)α. Apparent strong ion difference (SID_a) was negatively associated with IL10 and IL17. A principal component analysis including SAPS 3 indicated that the association between acid–base components and inflammatory status was largely independent of illness severity, with both increased SIG and decreased SID_a (both drivers of acidosis) associated with increased inflammation.

Acid–base variables (especially increased SIG, decreased albumin and decreased SID_a) on admission to ICU are associated with immunological activation. These findings should encourage new research into the effects of acid–base status on inflammation.