Issue: 2002 > March > brief reports

Life-threatening hypokalaemia and quadriparesis in a patient with ureterosigmoidostomy



BRIEF REPORTS
J.W. VAN BEKKUM, D.J. BAC, J.E. NIENHUIS, P.W. DE LEEUW, A. DEES
AbstractPDF

Abstract

We report quadriparesis as a result of severe hypokalaemia and acidosis in a 50-year-old man who had undergone ureterosigmoidostomy for bladder extrophy 48 years earlier. Aggressive suppletion with intravenous potassium and bicarbonate combined with potassium-sparing diuretics and ACE inhibitors resulted in complete restoration of the serum potassium and resolution of the neurological symptoms. The underlying mechanism as well as the treatment of hypokalaemia and hyperchloraemic metabolic acidosis after ureterosig-moidostomy are briefly discussed.