Monday September 11, 2006
Do you really need IV potassium replacement ?


This is important to know that PO (by mouth) potassium replacement is as effective as IV replacement ans should be use if enteral route is available. Actually, correction of K level could be faster with oral supplementation due to limitation of slow rate needed for IV potassium.

40 meq of PO KCl increases serum K by 0.5 - 0.7 meq/L in 1 - 2 hours, means K level may rise from 3 to 3.5 meq/L with one PO dose of 40 meq KCl elixir.