OBJECTIVEHypokalemia is a frequent complication observed after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We evaluated the effect of spironolactone on preventing hypokalemia following moderate to severe TBI.

METHODSPatients with moderate to severe TBI, whose Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 9-12 and less than 9, respectively, were equally randomized into intervention and control groups, matching with severity of trauma and baseline serum level of potassium. For the intervention group, we administrated spironolactone (1 mg/kg per day) on the second day of admission or the first day of gavage tolerance and continued it for seven days. No additional intervention was done for controls. Hypokalemia (mild: 3-3.5 mg/L, moderate: 2.5-3 mg/L, and severe: less than 2.5 mg/L serum K+) and other electrolyte abnormalities were compared between the two groups at the end of the intervention.

RESULTSSixty-eight patients (58 males and 10 females) were included with mean age equal to (33.1+/-11.8) years, and GCS equal to 7.6+/-2.8. The two groups were similar in baseline characteristics. Patients who received spironolactone were significantly less likely to experience mild, moderate, or severe hypokalemia (8.8%, 2.9%, and 0) compared with controls (29.4%, 11.7%, and 2.9%, respectively, P less than 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the occurrence of other electrolyte abnormalities, hyperglycemia or oliguria.

CONCLUSIONSpironolactone within the first week of head injury could prevent the occurrence of late hypokalemia with no severe side effects.

Adult ; Brain Injuries ; complications ; Female ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; prevention & control ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spironolactone ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

A 32-year-old man recovered completely from hypokalemic hypertension that had been caused by primary reninism after the ablation of an ectopic left testis, epididymis and ductus deferens. For several years, severe hypertension has been resistant to treatment, even the concurrent administration of up to seven antihypertensive agents. In this case, cryptorchidism was associated with an indirect inguinal hernia and an open peritoneo-vaginal process on both sides, aplasia of the posterior wall of the inguinal canal on the right side, an umbilical hernia, and a retroperitoneal tendrillar hemangioma.
Adult ; Choristoma ; surgery ; Hemangioma ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypertension ; chemically induced ; Hypokalemia ; complications ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Renin ; blood ; Testis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of potassium deficiency on glucose and insulin metabolism in primary hyperaldosteronism, including aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA).

METHODSTotally 178 patients who were diagnosed as primary hyperaldosteronism (103 patients with APA and 75 with IHA) were divided into hypokalemia group and normal potassium group according to their serum potassium levels. All patients received 3 hours of oral glucose tolerance test and aldosterone test to observe the relationship among glucose, insulin and serum potassium.

RESULTSArea under curve of serum potassium, area under curve of plasma insulin, and fasting serum insulin were significantly lower in the hypokalemia group than in the normal potassium group (P <0. 05, P <0. 01); area under curve of glucose and aldosterone level were significantly higher in the hypokalemia group than in the normal potassium group ( P < 0. 05 ) . The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in IHA than in APA (57. 3% vs 38. 8% ; P < 0. 05).

CONCLUSIONHypokalemia may play an important role in inhibiting insulin secretion in primary hyperaldosteronism.

Adult ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism ; complications ; metabolism ; Hypokalemia ; complications ; Insulin ; metabolism ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; etiology ; Middle Aged

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a fatal autosomal-recessive disease caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. CF is characterized by recurrent pulmonary infection with obstructive pulmonary disease. CF is common in the Caucasian population but is rare in the Chinese population. The symptoms of early-stage CF are often untypical and may sometimes manifest as Bartter syndrome (BS)-like hypokalemic alkalosis. Therefore, the ability of doctors to differentiate CF from BS-like hypokalemic alkalosis in Chinese infants is a great challenge in the timely and accurate diagnosis of CF. In China, sporadic CF has not been diagnosed in children younger than three years of age to date. Three infants, who were initially admitted to our hospital over the period of June 2013 to September 2014 with BS-like hypokalemic alkalosis, were diagnosed with CF through exome sequencing and sweat chloride measurement. The compound heterozygous mutations of the CFTR gene were detected in two infants, and a homozygous missense mutation was found in one infant. Among the six identified mutations, two are novel point mutations (c.1526G > C and c.3062C > T) that are possibly pathogenic. The three infants are the youngest Chinese patients to have been diagnosed with sporadic CF at a very early stage. Follow-up examination showed that all of the cases remained symptom-free after early intervention, indicating the potential benefit of very early diagnosis and timely intervention in children with CF. Our results demonstrate the necessity of distinguishing CF from BS in Chinese infants with hypokalemic alkalosis and the significant diagnostic value of powerful exome sequencing for rare genetic diseases. Furthermore, our findings expand the CFTR mutation spectrum associated with CF.
Alkalosis ; complications ; Bartter Syndrome ; China ; Cystic Fibrosis ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator ; genetics ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Exome ; Female ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; complications ; Infant ; Male ; Mutation

Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stensosis (IHPS), which occurs three of 1,000 live births, is a major cause of nonbilious vomiting of early infancy, but its etiology and pathogenesis are still obscure. The operation of pyloromyotomy as described by Ramstedt in 1912 remains the standard of care for the treatment of IHPS. From January 1990 to July 1997, 64 infants with IHPS were reviewed at department of Pediatric Sursery, Yeungnam University Hospital. The ratio of male to female was 7:1, and the most prevalent age group was between 2 weeks and 8 weeks (81.2%). There were 37 (57.8%) first born babies among total 64 infants. The body weight percentile at admission was lower than 50 percentile in all 64 cases. Onset of symptoms was predominantly between 2week and 4weeks in 23 cases (35.9%). All had a history of nonbilious vomting, generally projectile in nature. In the measured serum electrolytes, hypokalemia was noted in 14 cases (21.9%), hypochloremia was observed in 26 cases (40.6%). In the preoperative ultrasonography, the average muscle thickness, diameter, and length of the pylorus were 6.3mm, 12.3mm, and 17.8mm, respectively. A total of thirteen associated anomalies were noted in twelve patients. All 64 cases were treated with Fredet-Ramstedt pyloromyotomy. There were postoperative complications of wound infection in 3 cases. Intermittent nonprojectile vomiting was presented in 13 cases (20.3%) after operation, but one of them was relieved in 13 days and the rest were relieved within one week by adjustment of oral intake.
Body Weight ; Electrolytes ; Female ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; Infant ; Live Birth ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Pyloric Stenosis, Hypertrophic* ; Pylorus ; Standard of Care ; Ultrasonography ; Vomiting ; Wound Infection

BACKGROUNDCushing's disease (CD) presents a remarkable preponderance in female gender, and a significant minority of patients with CD presented with negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate gender-related and MRI classification-related differences in clinical and biochemical characteristics of CD.

METHODSWe retrospectively studied 169 patients with CD, comprising 132 females and 37 males, and 33 patients had no visible adenoma on MRI.

RESULTSWe observed that male and MRI-positive patients presented with high adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) values (P < 0.05). Female patients presented with higher prevalence of hirsutism and hyperpigmentation and lower prevalence of purple striae (P < 0.05). The prevalence of buffalo-hump and hypertension was greater in MRI-negative patients (P < 0.05). In addition, male patients with CD presented at a younger age compared with females (P < 0.05). Patients with fatigue and hypokalaemia presented significantly higher urinary-free cortisol, ACTH and cortisol levels compared with patients without these symptoms (P < 0.05). The prevalence of LH reduction, hyper total cholesterol (TC) and hyper low-density lipoprotein was more frequent in MRI-positive patients (P < 0.05). Hyper-TC levels and PRL reduction were more frequent in males (P < 0.05). T3, T4 and FT3 levels negatively correlated with age at diagnosis (r = -0.310, P < 0.01; r = -0.191, P < 0.05; r = -0.216, P < 0.05). T3, T4, FT3 and FT4 levels significantly negatively correlated with 8-am plasma cortisol levels (r = -0.328, P < 0.01; r = -0.195, P < 0.05; r = -0.333, P < 0.01; r = -0.180, P < 0.05). Females presented higher total protein level (P < 0.01) and lower blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels (P < 0.01), compared with male patients.

CONCLUSIONSCarefulness and caution are required in all patients with CD, because of the complexity of clinical and biochemical characteristics in CD patients of different gender and MRI classification, particularly male patients and MRI-negative patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Dyslipidemias ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; diagnosis ; Hypokalemia ; diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pituitary ACTH Hypersecretion ; complications ; diagnosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors ; Young Adult

Adolescent ; Anesthesia ; methods ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; complications ; physiopathology ; Long QT Syndrome ; etiology ; Male ; Propofol ; adverse effects ; Ventricular Fibrillation ; chemically induced ; physiopathology

Severe hypokalemia is defined as the concentration of serum potassium lower than 2.5 mmol/L, which may lead to serious arrhythmias and cause mortality. We report an unusual case of potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias induced by severe hypokalemia in a patient undergoing laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in Peking University Third Hospital due to irregular use of indapamide before operation. Indapamide is a sulfonamide diuretic with vasodilative and calcium antagonistic effects, which enhances sodium delivery to the renal distal tubules resulting in a dose-related increase in urinary potassium excretion and decreases serum potassium concentrations. The electrolyte disorder caused by the diuretic is more likely to occur in the elderly patients, especially those with malnutrition or long-term fasting. Hence, the serum potassium concentration of the patients under indapamide therapy, especially elderly patients, should be monitored carefully. Meanwhile, the potassium concentration measured by arterial blood gas analysis is different from that measured by venous blood or laboratory test. According to the previous research, the concentration of potassium in venous blood was slightly higher than that in arterial blood, and the difference value was 0.1-0.5 mmol/L. This error should be taken into account when rapid intravenous potassium supplementation or reduction of blood potassium level was carried out clinically. In the correction of severe hypokalemia, the standard approach often did not work well for treating severe hypokalemia. The tailored rapid potassium supplementation strategy shortened the time of hypokalemia and was a safe and better treatment option to remedy life-threatening arrhythmias caused by severe hypokalemia with a high success rate. Through the anesthesia management of this case, we conclude that for the elderly patients who take indapamide or other potassium excretion diuretics, the electrolyte concentration and the general volume state of the patients should be comprehensively measured and fully evaluated before operation. It may be necessary for us to reexamine the serum electrolyte concentration before anesthesia induction on the morning of surgery in patients with the history of hypokalemia. For severe hypokalemia detected after anesthesia, central venous cannulation access for individualized rapid potassium supplementation is an effective approach to reverse the life-threatening arrhythmias caused by severe hypokalemia and ensure the safety of the patients.
Humans ; Aged ; Hypokalemia/complications* ; Indapamide/adverse effects* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac/therapy* ; Diuretics/adverse effects* ; Potassium ; Electrolytes/adverse effects* ; Anesthesia, General/adverse effects*