2 While using serum potassium levels allows for better certainty in detecting hyperkalemia in administrative data sets, its numeric frequency will be affected by the serum level used to define hyperkalemia. Nevertheless, in a large study examining hospitalized veterans treated in the United States, and using actual serum potassium values to examine the frequency of hyperkalemia, the incidence of elevated serum potassium levels was similarly low at 3.2% (Table 1). Indeed, in the Canadian study the specificity of the ICD-10 code for hyperkalemia was very high (99%) but its sensitivity was very low (14.6%), thus indicating that the true frequency of hyperkalemia may be significantly higher. 1 The major limitation of this study was its reliance on diagnostic codes, which are known to have a low sensitivity and thus miss many cases for most studied conditions. A Canadian study examining 129,076 unselected elderly patients in the province of Ontario reported hyperkalemia (diagnosed by ICD-10 codes) in 2.6% of emergency room visits and 3.5% of hospital admissions (see Table 1). There are no general population-based studies examining the incidence or prevalence of hyperkalemia, which is regarded as a relatively rare and transient condition in patients without certain risk factors (see below). Incidence and risk factors of hyperkalemia In this article we examine the incidence and the predisposing factors of hyperkalemia, and review the clinical outcomes associated with various elevated levels of serum potassium. Recent advances in hyperkalemia research have resulted in better understanding of the risk factors underlying the development of hyperkalemia, and of the outcomes associated with elevations in serum potassium, with the ultimate goal to design optimal interventional strategies aimed at preventing and treating life-threatening hyperkalemia. Due to its propensity to cause malignant cardiac arrhythmias, severe hyperkalemia is regarded as a medical emergency that requires immediate therapeutic responses. Hyperkalemia is a relatively common transient acute electrolyte abnormality. If you continue to have this issue please contact to Healio Introduction
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