In: Nursing
A patient on IV Potassium suddenly complains of muscle weakness. Upon assessment, you found that the patient had tachycardia, flaccid paralysis, paraesthesia, abdominal distention, irritability. The ECG values indicated absent P waves, tall tented T waves, prolonged PR interval and QRS duration.
What would be your diagnosis for this patient?
What would be your immediate management for this patient?
Mention any Five (5) medical conditions that can lead to the patient’s diagnosis
Explain the major complication that may occur if not intervened immediately.
The symptoms of the patient reveals that the diagnosis is hyperkalemia ( that is, increased potassium level in the blood )
Symptoms of hyperkalemia are muscle weakness, tachycardia, flaccid paralysis, parasthesia, abdominal distension, irritability.
And ECG with absent P wave, tall tented T waves, prolonged PR interval and QRS duration.
Immediate management of a patient with hyperkalemia are:-
Medical conditions that can lead to hyperkalemia include :-
Complications of hyperkalemia
Major complications of hyperkalemia is cardiac arrest and death. It increases the mortality rate. Increased potassium cause suppression of electrical activity of heart and eventually heart stops beating. It is contributed by the entry of calcium and sodium into the myocytes results in cardiac arrest and death. Because this causes cell swelling, acidosis and consumption of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) , thereby triggers programmed cell death.