Pocket ICU Management
Hypokalemia
First Things First (assess & treat for the following)
- Is the hypokalemia real?
- Laboratory error: repeat test.
- Pseudohypokalemia: delayed separation of serum w/ markedly elevated WBC count
- Is pt symptomatic?
- Severity of signs & symptoms may depend on severity of hypokalemia & rate at which it develops.
- Most pts are asymptomatic (mild hypokalemia 3.0-3.5 mEq/L).
- Symptoms of hypokalemia (generally < 3.0 mEq/L): generalized weakness, fatigue, muscle cramps, constipation, polyuria/polydipsia, muscle necrosis (severe), ascending paralysis (severe)
- Signs of hypokalemia (< 3.0 mEq/L): cardiac arrhythmias, mild glucose intolerance
- EKG changes: flattened T waves, depressed ST segment, appearance of prominent U waves, prolonged PR interval, widened QRS complex
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Last updated: May 5, 2010
Citation
"Hypokalemia." Pocket ICU Management, PocketMedicine.com, Inc, 2010. Anesthesia Central, anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534084/all/Hypokalemia.
Hypokalemia. Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc; 2010. https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534084/all/Hypokalemia. Accessed December 23, 2024.
Hypokalemia. (2010). In Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc. https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534084/all/Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia [Internet]. In: Pocket ICU Management. PocketMedicine.com, Inc; 2010. [cited 2024 December 23]. Available from: https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534084/all/Hypokalemia.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Hypokalemia
ID - 534084
Y1 - 2010/05/05/
BT - Pocket ICU Management
UR - https://anesth.unboundmedicine.com/anesthesia/view/Pocket-ICU-Management/534084/all/Hypokalemia
PB - PocketMedicine.com, Inc
DB - Anesthesia Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
