mEq Potassium Research Articles

Potassium balance and acid-base changes in patients undergoing regular haemodialysis therapy.

Serial measurements of total body potassium in 21 patients with chronic renal failure being treated with three 10-hour periods of dialysis per week, against a dialysate fluid containing 1.5 mEq of potassium per litre, showed no evidence of potassium depletion. Mild hyperkalaemia was found in some patients before dialysis, correlated with the pre-dialysis hydrogen ion concentration. Hypokalaemia occurred during dialysis in almost half of the studies made; the plasma potassium concentration, however, rose to normal levels within two to four hours of stopping dialysis. A delay in the movement of potassium from the cells into the extracellular fluid is suggested as a cause for the observed hypokalaemia.In all but one patient the pre-dialysis blood pH was normal, but rose to alkalaemic levels during dialysis. A pronounced degree of hypocapnia was noted before dialysis, and this was not altered by a rising blood pH during dialysis. It is suggested that a stimulus to respiration other than the hydrogen ion gradient between the brain cells and cerebral spinal fluid may produce the observed hypocapnia.

The determination of sodium and potassium after separation from each other and other ions by means of ammonium phosphomolybdate and other ion Exchangers

The separation of sodium and potassium by means of ammonium molybdophosphate (AMP) cation-exchange columns is described. Up to 0.1 meq of potassium can be separated quantitatively from amounts up to 50 meq of sodium on a small (4 g AMP) column. With as much as 0.25 meq of potassium, quantitative separation can be effected by the successive use of two small columns. By a combination of this separation with conventional ion-exchange methods, sodium and potassium can be determined individually in the presence of various other cations.

Supplemental potassium therapy.

To the Editor:— The long-term use of thiazides and other oral diuretics necessitates long-term supplemental potassium intake in many cases. Though potassium chloride tablets are inexpensive and a logical choice of treatment (since chloride and potassium deficiencies are likely to co-exist), experimental and circumstantial evidence suggests these tablets may cause small-bowel ulcerations.1,2Hence, the pharmaceutical industry has in recent years introduced a number of liquid potassium preparations. These vary greatly in cost and some do not supply chloride ions. A 20% plain potassium chloride solution diluted in fruit juice has, in my experience, been the most useful and least expensive orally administered potassium agent. One teaspoonful in 6 oz of fruit juice taken three times daily provides 40 mEq potassium chloride plus another 15 to 30 mEq of potassium depending on the type of fruit juice used. (Apple juice contains approximately 5 mEq potassium per 6-oz glass, tomato juice

SOME EFFECTS OF DIETARY POTASSIUM UPON DIGESTIBILITY, SERUM ELECTROLYTES AND UTILIZATION OF POTASSIUM, SODIUM, NITROGEN AND WATER IN HEIFERS

Balance studies were conducted with heifers weighing between 210–258 kg to determine effects of different dietary potassium levels, 156.6 (low), 439.4 (medium) and 1,086.8 (high) meq upon nutrient utilization. The low potassium ration produced an average negative potassium balance of 25.2 meq daily, while the other rations produced positive potassium balances. Urinary potassium excretion was markedly affected by potassium level while fecal potassium excretion was much less affected: in general, the higher the potassium intake, the higher the urinary and fecal potassium excretions. All heifers were in positive sodium balance and dietary level of potassium did not significantly influence either urinary or fecal excretion of sodium. Nitrogen balance was not significantly affected by treatment, but urinary ammonia excretion was significantly (P < 0.01) higher when the low potassium ration was fed. Water consumption and urine volume were significantly (P < 0.01) higher for the heifers fed high potassium, but water balance was not affected. Apparent digestibilities of energy, dry matter, nitrogen, crude fiber and ether extract were not significantly affected by treatment.Serum potassium levels were lower (P < 0.05) and phosphorus higher (P < 0.05) in heifers receiving the low than in heifers receiving the high level of potassium. Serum concentrations of sodium, chloride, calcium and magnesium were not significantly affected by dietary potassium.From the data, the potassium requirement for maintenance of the heifers was estimated to be 133 meq potassium daily per 100 kg body weight.

METABOLIC STUDIES IN A CASE OF ADRENOCORTICAL HYPERFUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH CARCINOMA OF THE LUNG.

Sodium and potassium balances and indices of acid-base metabolism have been studied in a patient with carcinoma of the lung associated with adrenal cortical hyperfunction and hypokalemic alkalosis. Alkalemia persisted in spite of the retention of 1300 mEq potassium. After initial fluctuations the urine pH remained persistently between 5.2 and 6.0. The possibility that factors other than potassium deficiency were responsible for the paradoxical aciduria is considered.

Uptake of Strontium-85 by Alfalfa

Experiments with alfalfa were carried out to study the possibility of changes with time in the availability of radiostrontium in soil. After the soil was treated once with Sr85, the first crop was harvested after 60 days of growth. Four subsequent crops, cut at successive 4-week intervals, were examined. The difference in uptake between the second and fifth crops was statistically significant, suggesting that some fixation of Sr85 may occur in the soil. The effects of various applications of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride on the uptake of Sr85 by alfalfa were also investigated. Of the experiments carried out, only the treatment with 1.0 meq of potassium per 100g of soil resulted in a statistically significant reduction in strontium uptake.

The Effect of Specific Foods and Water Loading on the Ileal Excreta of Ileostomized Human Subjects

Summary 1.The effect on ileal excreta of 12 selected foods and liquids fed in normal quantities was studied in 7 healthy ileostomized persons. These foods were chosen for investigations because they are either forbidden or advocated in the treatment of many intestinal disorders. Only prune juice consistently increased the wet weight and many other characteristics of ileal effluent. Cooked cabbage augmented the output of wet and dry weight per day of ileal excreta, whereas baked beans increased only the dry weight output per day. 2.Water loads in approximate amounts of 1400, 2500, and 3500 gm. per day above control intake did not alter Real excreta significantly. The excess water seemed to be excreted mainly in the urine. 3.The wet weight of ileal excreta per day averaged 507 gm. It was semi-liquid to mushy, had an average pH of 6.3, and contained 92.1 per cent water on the average. Fat and nitrogen output per day were normal. An average of 60.3 mEq of sodium, 3.6 mEq of potassium, 86.2 mg. of bilirubin and 17.8 mg. of urobilinogen were excreted per day. 4.If these characteristics of ileal effluent and those of normal feces are compared, certain inferences as to colonic function can be made. The colon seems to absorb approximately 58 to 60 mEq of sodium and 400 ml. of water per day, excretes potassium, and is the main site where urobilinogen is formed.

The behaviour of potassium in rat liver cells at physiological variations of the glycogen content.

Abstract.The amounts of glucose, water and potassium entering rat liver cells in vivo were calculated in 34 animals. The estimations of these components and of fat, nitrogen and chloride were made on the homogenized liver, and the results related to the glycogen content. The calculations were based on the assumption that the absolute amount of nitrogen per cell remained unchanged during the experimental conditions. If 115–175 meq potassium are required per litre water for maintaining osmosis, “extra” potassium ranging from 50 to 25 per cent of the total was found to enter the cell. The possible explanations for the entrance of the “extra” potassium are briefly discussed.

Electrolyte balances following total body x-irradiation.

One of the prominent features of irradiation sickness is the attendant upset of salt and water metabolism. Depending upon the species, this may be manifested in the forms of vomiting, diarrhea, and diuresis. An exact determination of the changes in electrolyte balance following total body x-irradiation is, therefore, of interest.Methods. Twenty 250 g male white rats (Rolfsmeyer Co., Madison, Wisconsin) were placed in metabolism cages over siliconized glass funnels, and allowed free access to distilled water and a diet containing 60% sucrose, 18% lactalbumin, 16.9% Crisco, 4% modified Wesson salt mixture (minus its Na+, K+, and Cl), 1% liver extract (Wilson Co., liver fraction D. Lot 41863), 0.1% choline hydrochloride, with supplements of thiamine, pyridoxine, riboflavin and calcium pantothenate. Roughly 5% of the Na+, K+, and Cl intake was furnished by the diet; coming largely from the liver extract. The remainder of the sodium and potassium chlorides was administered daily by intraperitoneal injection. In the control period the average total electrolyte intake was 1.55 meq of sodium. 2.37 meq of potassium, and 2.54 meq of chloride per 48-hour period. Under these conditions the electrolyte intake was largely independent of the level of food intake. Each 48 hours, the food intake and body weight were recorded, and the excreta were removed for analysis. The excreta were collected quantitatively in barium hydroxide solution, evaporated to dryness, and ashed at 500°C for 12 hours. Sodium and potassium determinations were made on food, injection solutions, and excreta, with a flame photometer attachment to the Beckman DU Spectrophotometer. Chlorides were determined on the same samples by the Volhard method.