What are the consequences of intravenous potassium chloride injection?

Everyone is familiar with intravenous drip, which is the most common one. It is intravenous drip, also known as infusion for colds. As for intravenous push, you may not be clear about what it means. Intravenous push is intravenous injection, which is to inject the medicine directly into the blood vessel with a syringe. Both inject drugs into the blood vessels, but intravenous drip generally injects more drugs and takes longer, while intravenous push is the opposite. Some drugs are suitable for intravenous injection, while others are not. Potassium chloride is such a case. So, what are the consequences of intravenous injection of potassium chloride?

Potassium chloride injection: 1) Treatment of hypokalemia caused by various reasons, such as insufficient food intake, vomiting, severe diarrhea, use of potassium-excreting diuretics, hypokalemic familial periodic paralysis, long-term use of glucocorticoids and hypokalemia caused by supplementation of hypertonic glucose, etc.

(2) Prevention of hypokalemia: When patients have potassium loss, especially when hypokalemia is harmful to the patient (e.g. patients taking digitalis drugs), potassium salt supplementation is necessary, such as those who eat very little, have severe or chronic diarrhea, take adrenal cortex hormones for a long time, potassium-losing nephropathy, Bartter syndrome, etc.

Excessive potassium chloride will have many adverse reactions:

1. In case of excessive intravenous infusion, adverse reactions such as fatigue, decreased muscle tone, loss of reflexes, peripheral circulatory failure, slow heart rate, and even cardiac arrest may occur.

2. Use with caution in patients with severe renal impairment and oliguria, and avoid use in patients with anuria or high blood potassium.

3. In cases of dehydration, potassium-free fluids are generally given first (compound potassium chloride solution can also be given because it has a low potassium concentration and will not cause hyperkalemia), and potassium is then replenished after urination.

4. When giving intravenous drip, the speed should be slow and the concentration should not be too high (generally not exceeding 0.2%-0.4%, and can be increased to 0.6%-0.7% for the treatment of arrhythmia). Otherwise, it will not only cause local severe pain, but also lead to cardiac arrest. 5. Oral administration of this product solution or uncoated tablets is highly irritating to the gastrointestinal tract and some patients may find it difficult to tolerate. Patients should be alert if they experience abdominal discomfort, pain, and other symptoms after taking the medicine. Because taking potassium chloride tablets and other preparations may cause complications such as gastrointestinal ulcers, necrosis or stenosis, it is advisable to dilute the 10% aqueous solution of this product in a beverage and take it after a meal to reduce irritation. It would be better if sustained-release potassium chloride tablets were available.

Potassium is the main cation in myocardial cells. Potassium deficiency in myocardial cells can easily cause ectopic rhythms. If the blood potassium concentration increases, it can reduce the heart's autonomy, excitability, conductivity and contractility. If potassium chloride is injected intravenously, the blood potassium concentration may increase excessively, which may cause the heart to stop beating.

The principle of potassium supplementation is not to use too high a concentration. Generally speaking, 0.15 to 0.3 percent is used. The dripping time should not be too fast, otherwise the heart will not be able to bear it. Generally, it is about 40 drops per minute. When supplementing, do not supplement too much at one time. One gram a day is enough. If the patient has no urine, it is not advisable to supplement potassium, it is best to take it orally.