Objectives: To evaluate electrocardiographic changes related to potassium level and it's severity in end stage renal disease patients. Methods: This is a prospective cross sectional study of emergency department patients with end stage renal disease on replacement therapy with hyperkalemia and ECG recorded at time of hyperkalemia, inclusion criteria were (potassium level >5. 5 and age>18 years. We clssified hyperkalemia into mild (5. 5-6mmol), moderate (6-7mmol), and asevere (>7mmol), for analyzing the relationship between potassium level and ECG changes. Results: A total of 125 cases were collected, of those 25 were excluded because they didn't meet the inclusion criteria, the sample consist of 100 patient men 53% women47%Median age of patients was 53. 5 years+/- 17. 5. The number of normal ECG were 33, with 67abnormal ECG mainly showing hyperacute T wave (55) patients and prolonged PR interval (35) patients, QRS prolongation (16) patients, sine wave (5) patients, asystole (2) patients and atrial fibrillation (AF) in (6) patients. Conclusion: The ECG is a good tool of early hyperkalemia detection, correlating significantly to it's severity. Patients with end stage renal disease present electrocardiographic alterations similar to patients with hyperkalemia due to other causes.
*Firas Kahttan Abbas (MBChB, CJBAEM), Tahseen Ali Raheemah (MBChB, CABEM) (Wed,) studied this question.