Case Reports1 October 1960NEPHROPATHY OF POTASSIUM DEPLETION: REPORT OF A FATAL CASEWU-HAO TU, M.D., CARROLL C. JONES, M.D., MAX S. ALLEN, M.D., F.A.C.P.WU-HAO TU, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, CARROLL C. JONES, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, MAX S. ALLEN, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-53-4-796 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe effects of potassium depletion on the structure and function of the kidneys have probably been observed for at least 40 years. In 1919 Jaffé and Sternberg1described vacuolar degeneration of the renal tubules in patients who died of dysentery. These observers suggested that the lesion was a distinct pathologic entity, perhaps associated with intestinal disease. Deficiency of potassium as a cause of such renal lesions was suggested by Perkins et al.2and by Luft et al.3The subject has recently been well reviewed by Relman and Schwartz,4, 5, 6who confirmed the etiology and pathogenesis of the lesion by...Bibliography1. JafféSternberg RHH: Ueber die vakuolare Nierendegeneration bei chronischer Ruhr, Virchows Arch. f. path. Anat. 227: 313, 1920. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. PerkinsPetersonRiley JPABJA: Renal and cardiac lesions in potassium deficiency due to chronic diarrhea, Am. J. Med. 8: 115, 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. LuftRingertzSjögren RNB: Two cases of cryptogenetic hypokalemia with pathological anatomical findings, Acta endocrinol. 7: 196, 1951. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. RelmanSchwartz ASWB: The kidney in potassium depletion, Am. J. Med. 24: 764, 1958. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. RelmanSchwartz ASWB: The nephropathy of potassium depletion. A clinical and pathological entity, New England J. Med. 255: 195, 1956. 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MedlineGoogle Scholar19. FinkenstedtRuiz-QuinazuMoreauMorrisonMerrill JTALRSJP: Experimental acute potassium depletion in dogs, Clin. Sc. 16: 171, 1957. MedlineGoogle Scholar20. FourmanMcCanceParker PRARA: Chronic renal disease in rats following a temporary deficiency of potassium, Brit. J. Exper. Path. 37: 40, 1956. MedlineGoogle Scholar21. AlbrightReifenstein FEC: The parathyroid glands and metabolic bone disease, 1948, The Williams & Wilkins Company, Baltimore. Google Scholar22. WrongDavies DHE: The excretion of acid in renal disease, Quart. J. Med. 28: 259, 1959. MedlineGoogle Scholar23. WallisEngle LARL: The adult Fanconi syndrome. II. Review of eighteen cases, Am. J. Med. 22: 13, 1957. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar24. WilliamsMacMaron RHHE: Gastroenterocolitis; carcinoma of pancreas; "clear-cell" nephrosis, Bull. New England M. Center 9: 274, 1947. MedlineGoogle Scholar25. Conway EJ: The blood ammonia, with observations on normal human blood, Biochem. J. 29: 2755, 1935. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Kansas City, Kansas*Received for publication April 19, 1960.From the Department of Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.†Research Fellow, Kansas Heart Association.‡Trainee of the National Cancer Institute.Requests for reprints should be addressed to Max S. Allen, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Rainbow Boulevard at Thirty-ninth Street, Kansas City 12, Kansas. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byWork-Up of the Patient with Suspected Renal DiseaseThe role of sodium, potassium and water in the hypo-osmotic states of heart failure 1 October 1960Volume 53, Issue 4Page: 796-807KeywordsDysenteryDyspneaEtiologyHeartHypotensionKidneysLesionsPathogenesisPotassiumUrea ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 October 1960 PDF downloadLoading ...
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