Abstract
The patint was a 66-year-old woman suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. After 225mg/day of glycyrrhizin was administered for 2 weeks before her admission, she developed congestive heart failure. On admission, an X-ray film of the chest showed the large heart size with pulmonary vascular congestion and a massive pleural effusion. Serum potassium was 3.2mEq/l and suppression of both plasma renin activity (0.1ng/ml/hr) and plasma aldosterone concentration (25pg/ml) was observed. Further glycyrrhizin preparation was withheld, and with bed rest, but no medication, the patient lost 5kg of body weight over the next 1 week by diuresis. The x-ray film of the chest totally cleared and potassium, renin activity and aldosterone level became normal.
