Sixty-eight-year-old patient with hypokalemia.
A 68-year-old patient with severe hypokalemia and metabolic alkalosis is described. Six years before admission he had been treated for a small cell bronchial carcinoma. We discuss the diagnostic approach of hypokalemia and the way in which we reached the diagnosis. The patient suffered from metastatic small cell carcinoma with a very high plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone concentration, possibly due to production of corticotropin-releasing hormone by the malignancy.
Innemee
G
G
Department of General Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
De Meijer
P H
PH
Meinders
A E
AE
D000368:Aged; D000471:Alkalosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D003480:Cushing Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D007008:Hypokalemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis