Citation

Sporer KA, Mayer AP. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 1991; 9(2): 164-165.

Affiliation

Section of Emergency Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1994946

Abstract

A 37-year-old man presented to the emergency department after an attempt to self-treat his priapism with saltpeter (K+NO3). Initially he had a potassium of 7.6 with electrocardiographic changes and a markedly elevated CO2. The potassium and carbon dioxide normalized in less than 24 hours with standard treatment for hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia is expected with large oral potassium ingestion; and the elevated CO2 was spurious, caused by the misreading of serum nitrates by the Ektachrom 700 system. Ingestion of K+NO3 should be added to the differential of hyperkalemia with a markedly elevated CO2.

Language: en