title: pre-operative serum potassium levels and peri-operative outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
abstract: Although potassium is critical for normal electro physiology, the associations between pre-operative serum potassium level and peri-operative adverse events such as arrhythmias in cardiac surgery have not been examined in detail.The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of abnormal pre-operative serum potassium levels and whether such levels were associated with adverse peri-operative events in 50 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Intra-operative and post-operative arrhythmias, the need for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, cardiac death and death due to any cause prior to discharge from the post-operative intensive care unit were studied. The incidence for adverse outcome was 0.5% for death, 0.5% for cardiac death and 2% for cardio pulmonary resuscitation in patients with hypokalemia (serum potassium level <3.5 meq. L(-1)). Hypokalemia was found to be a predictor of serious peri-operative (OR:2.2; 95% Cl: 1.2-4.1) and post-operative arrhythmias (OR: 1.7;95%Cl: 1.0-2.7).Pre-operative potassium repletion is low cost and low risk treatment measure and the data from this study suggests that screening and repletion be considered in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, St. John's Medical College Hospital, 560034 Bangalore, Kamataka India.
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Sanjay
keywords: Caridac surgery; Serum potassium