High Potassium (Hyperkalaemia)
There is a three-step evaluation of hyperkalaemia.
- Is it artefact?
- Is it drug-induced?
- Is it pathological?
Results indicating hyperkalaemia are frequently an artefact and may be due to sample age, haemolysis, refrigeration or contamination.
Drugs which can induce hyperkalaemia include diuretics, NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers and aspirin.
Common pathological causes of hyperkalaemia include renal failure, diabetic ketoacidosis, Addison’s disease, tissue damage and severe acute starvation.
Urine potassium measurement is of little use.