PARALYSIS DUE TO REDUCED SERUM POTASSIUM CONCENTRATION DURING TREATMENT OF DIABETIC ACIDOSIS: REPORT OF CASE TREATED WITH 33 GRAMS OF POTASSIUM CHLORIDE INTRAVENOUSLY
Authors: F I STEPHENS
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1949)

Case Reports1 June 1949PARALYSIS DUE TO REDUCED SERUM POTASSIUM CONCENTRATION DURING TREATMENT OF DIABETIC ACIDOSIS: REPORT OF CASE TREATED WITH 33 GRAMS OF POTASSIUM CHLORIDE INTRAVENOUSLYF. IRBY STEPHENS, M.D.F. IRBY STEPHENS, M.D.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-30-6-1272 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptShortly after the discovery of insulin, Harrop and Benedict observed that insulin administration is followed by a decrease in the concentration of potassium in the serum.1Though it had been anticipated by several investigators, 23 years elapsed before Holler reported a case illustrating the possible serious consequences of this relationship in the treatment of diabetic acidosis.2Holler noted the development of profound weakness and eventual paralysis of the muscles of respiration in the course of treatment of a patient with diabetic acidosis, and demonstrated that this complication was associated with low serum potassium concentration. The administration of potassium salts resulted...Bibliography1. 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STEWARTSMITHMILHORAT HJJTAT: Electrocardiographic and serum potassium changes in familial periodic paralysis, Am. Jr. Med. Sci., 1940, cxcix, 789. CrossrefGoogle Scholar17. BROWNCURRENSMARCHAND MRJHJF: Muscular paralysis and electrocardiographic abnormalities resulting from potassium loss in chronic nephritis, Jr. Am. Med. Assoc., 1944, cxxiv, 545. CrossrefGoogle Scholar18. MARTINWERTMAN EMM: Electrolyte changes and the electrocardiogram in diabetic acidosis, Am. Heart Jr., 1947, xxxiv, 646. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Asheville, N. C.*Received for publication June 17, 1948.†Formerly Assistant in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 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