Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 May 12;10(2):251-7.
doi: 10.5114/aoms.2014.42577. Epub 2014 May 13.

Hyperkalemia among hospitalized patients and association between duration of hyperkalemia and outcomes

Jagadish Khanagavi  1 , Tanush Gupta  1 , Wilbert S Aronow  2 , Tushar Shah  1 , Jalaj Garg  1 , Chul Ahn  3 , Sachin Sule  1 , Stephen Peterson  1
Affiliations

Hyperkalemia among hospitalized patients and association between duration of hyperkalemia and outcomes

Jagadish Khanagavi et al. Arch Med Sci. .

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate predictors of mortality in patients hospitalized with hyperkalemia.

Material and methods: Data among hospitalized patients with hyperkalemia (serum potassium ≥ 5.1 mEq/l) were collected. Patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis were excluded.

Results: Of 15,608 hospitalizations, 451 (2.9%) episodes of hyperkalemia occurred in 408 patients. In patients with hyperkalemia, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and heart failure were common comorbidities. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and metabolic acidosis were common metabolic abnormalities, and 359 patients (88%) were on at least one drug associated with hyperkalemia. Mean duration to resolution of hyperkalemia was 12 ±9.9 h. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (HR = 1.59), highest potassium level (HR = 0.61), tissue necrosis (HR = 0.61), metabolic acidosis (HR = 0.77), and AKI (HR = 0.77) were significant independent determinants of duration prior to hyperkalemia resolution. Tissue necrosis (OR = 4.55), potassium supplementation (OR = 5.46), metabolic acidosis (OR = 4.84), use of calcium gluconate for treatment of hyperkalemia (OR = 4.62), AKI (OR = 3.89), and prolonged duration of hyperkalemia (OR = 1.06) were significant independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

Conclusions: Tissue necrosis, potassium supplementation, metabolic acidosis, calcium gluconate for treatment of hyperkalemia, AKI and prolonged duration of hyperkalemia are independent predictors of in-hospital mortality.

Keywords: drug-induced hyperkalemia; in-hospital mortality; potassium supplements; prolonged hyperkalemia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Jain N, Kotla S, Little BB, et al. Predictors of hyperkalemia and death in patients with cardiac and renal disease. Am J Cardiol. 2012;109:1510–3. - PubMed
    1. McMahon GM, Mendu ML, Gibbons FK, Christopher KB. Association between hyperkalemia at critical care initiation and mortality. Intensive Care Med. 2012;38:1834–42. - PubMed
    1. Perazella MA. Drug-induced hyperkalemia: old culprits and new offenders. Am J Med. 2000;109:307–14. - PubMed
    1. Juurlink DN, Mamdani MM, Lee DS, et al. Rates of hyperkalemia after publication of the Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:543–51. - PubMed
    1. Noize P, Bagheri H, Durrieu G, et al. Life-threatening drug-associated hyperkalemia: a retrospective study from laboratory signals. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 2011;20:747–53. - PubMed