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Case Reports
. 2025 Jun 24;17(6):e86704.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.86704. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Hyperkalemia Caused by Potassium-Enriched Salt in a Hospitalized Patient

Masayoshi Kusunoki  1 , Tatsuya Fujihara  2   1 , Ryosuke Ishida  1 , Yuji Yamamori  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hyperkalemia Caused by Potassium-Enriched Salt in a Hospitalized Patient

Masayoshi Kusunoki et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Hyperkalemia is a potentially life-threatening condition, particularly in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Potassium-enriched salt substitutes are increasingly promoted as a dietary intervention for hypertension, but may pose risks in patients with impaired renal function. We report the case of an 88-year-old male with CKD who developed asymptomatic but marked hyperkalemia (7.5 mEq/L) during hospitalization for osteomyelitis. The patient had unknowingly consumed a potassium-enriched salt substitute brought in by his family to improve the taste of hospital meals. His renal function had previously declined due to septic and prerenal acute kidney injury. Following identification of the hyperkalemia, the patient was treated with glucose-insulin therapy, intravenous fluids, diuretics, and sodium polystyrene sulfonate, leading to normalization of serum potassium levels. This case highlights the importance of monitoring dietary potassium sources in hospitalized patients with CKD and underscores the need for patient and caregiver education regarding the risks of unregulated dietary supplements, especially potassium-based salt substitutes.

Keywords: acute kidney injury; ckd(chronic kidney disease); hyperkalemia; hypertension; potassium-enriched salt.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Informed consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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