{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T23:22:05Z","timestamp":1769815325533,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2012,11,1]],"date-time":"2012-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1351728000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JRSM Short Reports"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2012,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p> Summary <\/jats:p><jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p> To define the causes of hypokalaemia in an unselected adult population. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design<\/jats:title><jats:p> Retrospective survey of biochemistry database. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title><jats:p> District general hospital in southwest Scotland. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Participants and main outcome measures<\/jats:title><jats:p> There were 187,704 measurements of urea and electrolytes in 2010. Sixty-one patients had serum potassium &lt;2.5 mmol\/L on at least one occasion. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p> Average age of the patients was 71 (range 33\u201399) years. The most common causes were diarrhoea and\/or vomiting (51% of cases), diuretic therapy (47%), nutritional causes including poor dietary intake, re-feeding syndrome and inadequate potassium supplementation when patients were nil by mouth (37%). In 25% of patients a transient and profound fall in serum potassium appeared to coincide with their acute illness. Acute alcohol intoxication and\/or alcohol withdrawal were prominent features in 11% of patients. More than one cause was commonly present. There were no cases of Bartter's, Gitelman's or Liddle's syndromes or of hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in this study. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p> Severe hypokalaemia &lt;2.5 mmol\/L occurs at least once a week in a district general hospital with a catchment population of around 150,000, suggesting there may be around 300 cases a week in the UK (population around 50,000,000). Diuretics, vomiting and diarrhoea are commonly implicated as are nutritional causes, acute illness and alcohol. Bartter's, Gitelman's, Liddle's syndrome and hypokalaemic period paralysis are all extremely uncommon. <\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,12,21]],"date-time":"2012-12-21T08:31:45Z","timestamp":1356078705000},"page":"1-8","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Hypokalaemia: Common Things Occur Commonly \u2014 a Retrospective Survey"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"3","author":[{"given":"Alasdair","family":"Reid","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Renal Unit and Department of Biochemistry, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries DG1 4AP, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gareth","family":"Jones","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renal Unit and Department of Biochemistry, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries DG1 4AP, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chris","family":"Isles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Renal Unit and Department of Biochemistry, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries DG1 4AP, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,11,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-shorts.2012.011179","volume-title":"Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine","author":"Kumar P","year":"2009","edition":"7"},{"key":"bibr2-shorts.2012.011179","volume-title":"Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine","author":"Colledge NR","year":"2010","edition":"21"},{"key":"bibr3-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1038\/nrneph.2010.175","volume":"7","author":"Unwin RJ","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nat Rev Nephrol"},{"key":"bibr4-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"451","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199808133390707","volume":"339","author":"Gennari FJ","year":"1998","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"bibr5-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(97)11328-9"},{"key":"bibr6-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1495","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.a301","volume":"336","author":"Mehanna HM","year":"2008","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"bibr7-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1525-139X.2006.00212.x","volume":"19","author":"Sedlacek M","year":"2006","journal-title":"Semin Dial"},{"key":"bibr8-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJM199808063390607","volume":"339","author":"Brater DC","year":"1998","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"bibr9-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1341","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(98)06102-9","volume":"353","author":"Stewart PM","year":"1999","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"bibr10-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1016\/0735-6757(92)90048-3","volume":"10","author":"Stedwell RE","year":"1992","journal-title":"Am J Emerg Med"},{"key":"bibr11-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-3101(23)00099-3","volume":"47","author":"Schurman SJ","year":"2000","journal-title":"Adv Pediatr"},{"key":"bibr12-shorts.2012.011179","unstructured":"Emmett M. See www.uptodate.com\/contents\/BartterandGittlemansyndromes2011 (last accessed 28 November 2011)"},{"key":"bibr13-shorts.2012.011179","unstructured":"Rose BD. See www.uptodate.com\/contents\/causesofhypokalaemia (last accessed 14 December 2011)"},{"key":"bibr14-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2291","DOI":"10.1681\/ASN.2007111194","volume":"20","author":"Martin KJ","year":"2009","journal-title":"J Am Soc Nephrol"},{"key":"bibr15-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1080\/09595230220119282a","volume":"21","author":"Elisaf M","year":"2002","journal-title":"Drug Alcohol Rev"},{"key":"bibr16-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1561","DOI":"10.1001\/archinte.164.14.1561","volume":"164","author":"Lin SH","year":"2004","journal-title":"Arch Int Med"},{"key":"bibr17-shorts.2012.011179","first-page":"115","volume":"2","author":"Assadi F","year":"2008","journal-title":"Iranian J Kidney Dis"},{"key":"bibr18-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3266","DOI":"10.1210\/jc.2008-0104","volume":"93","author":"Funder JW","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Clin Endocrinol Metab"},{"key":"bibr19-shorts.2012.011179","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"731","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.314.7082.731","volume":"314","author":"de Klerk GJ","year":"1997","journal-title":"BMJ"}],"container-title":["JRSM Short Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,3]],"date-time":"2025-03-03T11:26:21Z","timestamp":1741001181000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2012,11]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2012,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1258\/shorts.2012.011179","relation":{},"ISSN":["2042-5333"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2042-5333","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2012,11]]}}}