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Solomon A. Menahem, Gregory J. Perry, John Dowling, Napier M. Thomson, Hypokalaemia-induced acute renal failure, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Volume 14, Issue 9, September 1999, Pages 2216–2218, https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/14.9.2216
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Introduction
Chronic hypokalaemia is encountered in a variety of clinical settings. These include chronic diarrhoea resulting from inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal infection or laxative abuse. Alternatively `renal' wasting of potassium causing chronic hypokalaemia can arise from primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism, diuretic use or abuse and primary tubular disorders such as Bartter's syndrome.
Potassium deficiency alters the function of several organs and most predominantly affects the cardiovascular system, neurological system, muscles and kidneys [1]. Cardiac complications of prolonged hypokalaemia include ventricular arrhythmias and hypertension. Neuromuscular manifestations include muscle weakness and cramps as well as an increased incidence of rhabdomyolysis. The described renal lesions associated with chronic hypokalaemia include: proximal tubular vacuolization accompanied by nephrogenic diabetes insipidus [2], interstitial nephritis accompanied by varying degrees of renal impairment [3,4] and an increased incidence of simple renal cysts [5]. We report a case of reversible anuric acute renal failure arising in a patient with known chronic hypokalaemia secondary to prolonged laxative abuse.
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