We experienced a case of severe intraoperative hyperkalemia during laparoscopic radical nephrectomy in a 60-year-old male patient with renal insufficiency, whose hypertension had been managed by preoperative angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) and adrenergic beta-antagonist. After renal vessel ligation, his intraoperative potassium concentration suddenly increased to 7.0 mEq/L, but his electrocardiography (ECG) did not show any significant change. While preoperative ARB therapy has been regarded as a contributing factor for further aggravation of underlying renal insufficiency, we assumed that nephrectomy itself and rhabdomyolysis caused by surgical trauma also aggravated the underlying renal dysfunction and resulted in sudden hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia was managed successfully with calcium gluconate, insulin, furosemide and crystalloid loading during the intraoperative and immediate postoperative periods, and potassium concentration decreased to 5.0 mEq/L at 8 hours after the operation. The patient’s hospital course was uncomplicated, but his renal function deteriorated further.
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Acute Intraoperative Hyperkalemia During Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy: A Case Report Nivedhyaa Srinivasaraghavan, Vallary Modh, Arun Menon A&A Practice.2022; 16(12): e01650. CrossRef
Cardiac arrest associated with hyperkalemia during red blood cell transfusion is a rare but fatal complication. Herein, we report a case of transfusion-associated cardiac arrest following the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in a 9-month old infant. Her serum potassium level was increased to 9.0 mEq/L, soon after the newly primed circuit with pre-stored red blood cell (RBC) was started and followed by sudden cardiac arrest. Eventually, circulation was restored and the potassium level decreased to 5.1 mEq/L after 5 min. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) priming is a relatively massive transfusion into a pediatric patient. Thus, to prevent cardiac arrest during blood-primed ECMO in neonates and infants, freshly irradiated and washed RBCs should be used when priming the ECMO circuit, to minimize the potassium concentration. Also, physicians should be aware of all possible complications associated with transfusions during ECMO.
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Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease, transfusion-associated hyperkalemia, and potassium filtration: advancing safety and sufficiency of the blood supply Kenneth E. Nollet, Alain M. Ngoma, Hitoshi Ohto Transfusion and Apheresis Science.2022; 61(2): 103408. CrossRef
Transfusion-Associated Hyperkalemic Cardiac Arrest in Neonatal, Infant, and Pediatric Patients Morgan Burke, Pranava Sinha, Naomi L. C. Luban, Nikki Gillum Posnack Frontiers in Pediatrics.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
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Anticoagulation Therapy during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator Support in Pediatric Patients Hwa Jin Cho, Do Wan Kim, Gwan Sic Kim, In Seok Jeong Chonnam Medical Journal.2017; 53(2): 110. CrossRef
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Severe hyperkalemia can induce life threatening cardiac rhythm disturbances, and usually produce classic electrocardiographic (EKG) manifestations. We report a case of severe hyperkalemia in which the EKG did not reveal the expected alterations. The patient was a 57-year-old man with adenocarcinoma of stomach. There were no significant abnormal findings in laboratory analysis, chest X-ray and EKG. His preoperative medications for hypertension consisted of furosemide, amiloride and enalapril. The tests for serum potassium concentration ([K ]) were performed on 20 and 7 days before the operation and the results were 4.5 and 4.9 mEq/l, respectively. Just after induction of anesthesia, we tried the blood gas and electrolyte analysis and the result revealed high [K ] of 8.5 mEq/l, but EKG did not show typical phenotype of hyperkalemia at that time. His intraoperative and postoperative courses were not eventful.