Key result
Acid-base guided potassium supplementation resolves hypokalemic paralysis in three patients.
Case Report (n=3)
No
Acid-base status evaluation is a key initial step in determining the etiology of hypokalemic paralysis in the emergency setting.
May inform ED evaluation of hypokalemic paralysis; Level 5 evidence leaves open need for prospective validation.
Three cases of hypokalemic paralysis are reported, presenting to the Emergency Department. The first is a patient with a hypokalemic periodic paralysis with a normal acid-base status, the second is a case of hypokalemic flaccid paralysis of all extremities with a normal anion gap metabolic acidosis, the last is a patient with a hypokalemic distal paralysis of right upper arm with metabolic alkalosis. Afterwards some pathophysiologic principles and the clinical aspects of hypokalemia are discussed and an appropriate approach to do in Emergency Department, to identify the hypokalemic paralysis etiologies in the Emergency Department, is presented, beginning from the evaluation of acid-base status.
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Casagranda et al. (2006) conducted a case report in Hypokalemic paralysis (n=3). Potassium supplementation was evaluated on Resolution of paralysis and normalization of serum potassium. Potassium supplementation guided by acid-base status evaluation led to complete clinical recovery in three emergency department patients presenting with hypokalemic paralysis.
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