Treatment of the Oliguric Patient with a New Sodium-Exchange Resin and Sorbitol

THE danger of death from acute spontaneous potassium intoxication in patients with severe oliguria is well recognized.1 , 2 Because the gastrointestinal secretions are rich in potassium numerous technics have been devised to remove potassium from the oliguric patient by way of the gastrointestinal tract. Most of these technics employed some form of intestinal drainage or lavage and were laborious and only partly successful.3 4 5 The development of cation-exchange resins that could be administered to patients suggested a new method for removal of potassium from gastrointestinal secretions. These resins were capable of exchanging cations bound to the resin for other cations present in . . .