Pseudohyperkalemia in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: An Often Overlooked Clinical Entity.

Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common indolent leukemia in the United States (Bnaya et al., 2021). Metabolic complications (e.g., hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, hypocalcemia) are particularly common in patients with unstable CLL and are caused by rapid cellular destruction (Higdon et al., 2018). Empirical reports emphasize that these derangements can lead to acute urate nephropathy, sudden cardiac arrest, and death, particularly with progressive disease or in those receiving active CLL-directed therapy (Higdon et al., 2018; Koehler et al., 2020).