Hyperkalaemia is a life threatening acute medical emergency. Patients with end stage renal failure are more prone to get hyperkalaemia as potassium is normally excreted via the kidneys. Therefore, patients with end stage renal failure should avoid food with high potassium contents. Bananas are well known to have high potassium content. However, the 'king of fruits' the durian, has higher potass...

Disturbances in potassium homoeostasis presenting as low or high serum potassium are common, especially among hospitalised patients. Given the fact that untreated hypokalaemia or hyperkalaemia is associated with high morbidity and mortality, it is critical to recognise and treat these disorders promptly. In this article, normal potassium homoeostasis is reviewed initially and then a pathophysio...

AIM To investigate possible abnormalities of serum potassium and calcium levels in patients with essential thrombocythaemia and significant thrombocytosis. METHODS 24 cases of essential thrombocythaemia with significant thrombocytosis (platelet count > 700 x 10(9)/litre) had serum potassium and calcium estimations performed at the time of maximum thrombocytosis before treatment, and at the ti...

Two patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type I), developed severe, life-threatening hyperkalaemia, the first following treatment with spironolactone, the second during treatment for staphylococcal septicaemia when glucose-induced hyperkalaemia occurred. Investigations demonstrated co-existing hyporeininaemic hypoaldosteronism. Prompt recognition of this combined hormone-deficienc...

Hyperkalaemia continues to be a major hazard of mineralocorticoid receptor blockade in an effort to retard the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In cardiac patients on mineralocorticoid receptor blockade, RLY-5016 which captures K(+) in the colon has been effective in reducing the risk of hyperkalaemia. This compound might be useful in CKD as well.

OBJECTIVES Evaluate the validity of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) code for hyperkalaemia (E87.5) in two settings: at presentation to an emergency department and at hospital admission. DESIGN Population-based validation study. SETTING 12 hospitals in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, from 2003 to 2010. PARTICIPANTS Elderly patients with serum potassium va...

OBJECTIVE To determine if trimethoprim use for urinary tract infection (UTI) is associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury, hyperkalaemia, or sudden death in the general population. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING UK electronic primary care records from practices contributing to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics database. PARTICIP...