Approach to the patient with hypokalemia caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis associated with primary Sjogren's syndrome and renal tubular acidosis

Abstract

Hypokalemia is a common clinical symptom. It is quite important to clarify the cause of hypokalemia. Autoimmune thyroid disease and primary Sjogren syndrome(pSS)have a common genetic predisposition. The coexistence of both diseases is frequent. Renal tubular acidosis(RTA)is one of the causes of hypokalemia, which can be primary and secondary to other diseases in etiology. Primary RTA is more common in children. As for adults, RTA is often secondary to pSS. In this paper, we reported a case of hypokalemia caused by Hashimoto's thyroiditis associated with primary Sjogren's syndrome and renal tubular acidosis in order to call attention to the special cause and treatment of hypokalemia. (Chin J Endocrinol Metab, 2016, 32: 349-352) Key words: Hypokalemia; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; Primary Sjogren's syndrome; Renal tubular acidosis