POS-094 PSEUDOHYPERKALEMIA AND THE NEWLY INTRODUCED POTENT POTASSIUM BINDERS: A CALL FOR IMPERATIVE CAUTION – TWO CASE SERIES

Abstract

Pseudohyperkalemia, first described in 1955 by Hartmann and Mellinkoff, is the presence of a marked elevation of serum potassium in the absence of clinical evidence of electrolyte imbalance. In pseudohyperkalemia, simultaneously measured serum potassium exceeds plasma potassium by >0.4 mmol/L. Two patients with pseudohyperkalemia were inadvertently administered inappropriate potassium binder therapy for weeks to months before the diagnosis of pseudohyperkalemia was entertained and confirmed. Potassium binders were promptly discontinued immediately after the diagnosis of pseudohyperkalemia was established.