Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk of developing high levels of potassium in their blood. In medical terms, high potassium is refered to as hyperkalemia. This occurs due to the kidneys failing to remove enough potassium from the body and may also occur as a side-effect of a number of medications that are frequently prescribed to patients with kidney disease. High levels of potassium in the blood may cause significant problems for these patients including muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting and in severe cases irregular heart rhythms which may be life-threatening.
For patients taking medications that cause hyperkalemia as a side-effect, this may lead to discontinuation of the medication, despite the benefits the medication provides the patient. It may also result in the need for a significant change to the patient’s diet, which may prove difficult for the patient to comply with. Fortunately, two drugs are expected to become available within the HSE in the near future, which may be combined with medications to reduce the side-effect of hyperkalemia, thus allowing the patient to continue treatment with the medications. This research aims to provide useful information which may inform clinicians particularly during the advent of these new drugs becoming available in Ireland. This study aims to acquire and analyse data to evaluate the proportion of kidney disease patients who develop hyperkalemia and to assess the association of this condition with factors such as medications and disease stage.
