TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - High prevalence of hypokalemia after acute acetaminophen overdose: impact of psychiatric illness
JO  - Human and experimental toxicology
A1  - Zyoud, Sa'ed H.
A1  - Awang, Rahmat
A1  - Syed Sulaiman, Syed Azhar
A1  - Al-Jabi, Samah W.
SP  - 773
EP  - 778
VL  - 29
IS  - 9
N2  - BACKGROUND: Hypokalemia is not an isolated disease but an associated finding in a number of different diseases. It is also a commonly neglected condition among patients with acute acetaminophen overdose. OBJECTIVES: This study intended to determine the prevalence of hypokalemia and its clinical correlates in acute psychiatric illness among hypokalemic and normokalemic patients after acetaminophen overdose. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of hospital admissions for acute acetaminophen overdose conducted over a period of 5 years from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2008. Demographic data and different types of psychiatric illness were compared between hypokalemic and normokalemic patients. Hypokalemia was predefined by a serum concentration <3.5 mmol/L. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 15 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty patients out of 305 admissions were studied. Hypokalemia was found in 63.6% of patients with a higher prevalence in the presence of psychiatric illness (67.7%). Hypokalemic patients were significantly associated with the presence of major depression (p = .04), adjustment disorder (p < .001), anxiety (p = .01), and suicidal attempts (p = .04). CONCLUSION: Hypokalemia was common among patients with psychiatric illness and acute acetaminophen overdose.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0960-3271
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0960327110361759
ID  - ref1
ER  -