WASHINGTON—Approximately 1 in 6 adults with mild hyperkalemia progress to moderate to severe hyperkalemia in the 2 years following the date of their first mild hyperkalemia event (index date), according to data presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 2019 Kidney Week conference.
Progression rates are higher among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and those with heart failure, hypertension, or type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Of 35,369 adults with mild hyperkalemia (serum potassium higher than 5.0 but not exceeding 5.5 mEq/L), 16.9% and 8.7% progressed to moderate to severe hyperkalemia (serum potassium higher than 5.5 mEq/L) and to severe hyperkalemia (serum potassium higher than 6.0 mEq/L), respectively, at 2 years follow-up after the index date, Rubeen K. Israni, MD, of AstraZeneca in Newark, Delaware, and colleagues reported in a poster presentation.
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During the 2-year follow-up, the rates of progression from mild hyperkalemia to moderate to severe hyperkalemia increased from 21.7% among patients with CKD stage 3 to 32.2% among those with CKD stage 4 and 50.2% among those on dialysis. Patients without CKD had a 2-year progression rate of 12%. The 2-year progression rate was 32.7% among patients with heart failure compared with 19.4% among those without heart failure, according to the investigators. Patients with hypertension had a progression rate of 25%, whereas those without hypertension had a rate of 16.7%. Patients with and without T2D had progression rates of 29% and 18.1%, respectively.
Reference
Israni RK, Uwaifo GI, Szerlip HM, et al. Hyperkalemia progression rates among patients with mild hyperkalemia. Presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 2019 Kidney Week conference held November 5 to 10 in Washington, DC. Abstract FR-PO648.
