Fludrocortisone Therapy in Renal Transplant Recipients with Persistent Hyperkalemia

Hyperkalemia after kidney transplantation is a common electrolyte disturbance and the risk factors are multifactorial. Pharmacotherapeutic agents for chronic management of hyperkalemia in kidney transplant patients may be relatively contraindicated or provide suboptimal efficacy. Fludrocortisone, an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: K. Marfo, D. Glicklich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Transplantation
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/586859
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Hyperkalemia after kidney transplantation is a common electrolyte disturbance and the risk factors are multifactorial. Pharmacotherapeutic agents for chronic management of hyperkalemia in kidney transplant patients may be relatively contraindicated or provide suboptimal efficacy. Fludrocortisone, an endogenous mineralocorticoid mimics the actions of aldosterone, hence hyperkalemia reversal. We describe three- case series of persistent hyperkalemia with demonstrated benefit from fludrocortisone therapy. Our three renal transplant recipients with multiple emergency room visits for elevated serum potassium levels despite treatment with diuretics, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium polystyrene sulfonate responded well to fludrocortisones therapy. Upon fludrocortisone initiation and maintenance therapy, all three patients experienced a decline in serum potassium levels to normal reference range.
ISSN:2090-6943
2090-6951