CLINICAL RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT OF ACUTE POTASSIUM INTOXICATION
Authors: J P MERRILL, H D LEVINE, W SOMERVILLE, S SMITH
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1950)

Article1 October 1950CLINICAL RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT OF ACUTE POTASSIUM INTOXICATIONJOHN P. MERRILL, M.D., HAROLD D. LEVINE, M.D., F.A.C.P., WALTER SOMERVILLE, M.D., M.R.C.P., STEPHEN SMITH 3rd, M.D.JOHN P. MERRILL, M.D., HAROLD D. LEVINE, M.D., F.A.C.P., WALTER SOMERVILLE, M.D., M.R.C.P., STEPHEN SMITH 3rd, M.D.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-33-4-797 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe toxicity to the living organism of an excess of potassium ion in the extracellular fluid has been recognized for many years.1, 2, 3 The accumulation of toxic amounts of potassium may occur by reason of: (1) excess intake,2, 4, 5 (2) faulty metabolic handling,6 and (3) decreased excretion of potassium liberated by catabolic processes.7, 8, 9 The syndrome is encountered most frequently in clinical practice as a consequence of impaired excretion of potassium in the presence of increased mobilization or intake.The clinical syndrome of potassium intoxication has been recognized with increasing frequency10, 11, 12, 13, 14and the...Bibliography1. 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Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: *Received for publication March 24, 1950.From the Medical Clinic of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.This investigation was supported in part by a research grant from the Office of the Surgeon General, United States Army, in part by a grant from the National Heart Institute, United States Public Health Service, and in part by the Medical-Surgical Research Fund of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.†This work was done during the tenure of a Research Fellowship of the American Heart Association.‡Institute of Cardiology, London—Travelling Fellow in Cardiology, British Postgraduate Medical Federation (University of London).§Research Fellow in Medicine, Harvard Medical School. 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