Frequency of Hypokalemia in Chronic Liver Disease

Background: Serum potassium concentration ranges widely in patients with Chronic liver disease (CLD). Both hypokalemia and hyperkalemia may occur, but usually normokalemia is observed. Early studies revealed a 40% prevalence of hypokalemia in cirrhotic patients, irrespective of the disease stage. Aim: To determine the frequency of hypokalemia in patients with chronic liver disease. Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at Department of Medicine, CMH Kharian Medical College, Kharian over a period of six months. Methodology: Total 120 consecutive cases of CLD presenting with complications in the medicine ward were enrolled in the study. Ultrasonography, LFTs and other baseline investigations were done to evaluate for hepatic decompensation. Serum electrolytes (for hypokalemia) were done. Serum potassium levels were measured in 1ml of blood sample using electrolyte analyzer system. Data was analyzed using SPSS v23.0. Data was stratified for age, gender, BMI, duration of CLD, Child Pugh class and socio-economic status. Post stratification, Chi-Square test was used taking p-value <= 0.05 as significant. Results: Total 120 patients were selected for this study. Mean age of the patients was 47.1 +/- 13.7 years. Total 82(68.3%) were males and 38(31.7%) were females. 20 patients (16.7%) had hypokalemia. There was a statistical significance between hypokalemia and socio-economic status (p<0.035). Conclusion: Hypokalemia plays a key role in hepatic encephalopathy which is a common phenomenon in cirrhosis of liver.