Basic & clinical pharmacology 12th Edition

A 26-year-old man is brought by friends to the emergency department of the city hospital because he has been behaving strangely for several days. A known user of methamphetamine, he has not eaten or slept in 48 hours. He threatened to shoot one of his friends because he believes this friend is plotting against him. On admission, the man is extremely agitated, appears to be underweight, and is unable to give a coherent history. He has to be restrained to prevent him from walking out of the emergency department and into traffic on the street. His blood pressure is 160/100 mm Hg, heart rate 100, temperature 39°C, and respirations 30/ min. His arms show evidence of numerous intravenous injections. The remainder of his physical examination is unremarkable. After evaluation, the man is given a sedative, fluids, a diuretic, and ammonium chloride parenterally. What is the purpose of the ammonium chloride?