Abstract
We report a patient with renal dysfunction (preoperative creatinine 4.3 mg/dl) who developed hyperkalemia after blood transfusion. A 63-year-old man was scheduled for total hip replacement and admitted six days before surgery. The preoperative potassium level was 4.8 mEq/L. A total of 800 ml of autologous blood was transfused. The potassium level after the transfusion was 8.0 mEq/L. He received intravenous furosemide, glucose, insulin, and sodium bicarbonate. The potassium level decreased to 4.5 mEq/L, 2h 20min after the transfusion. We should be aware that autologous blood transfusion can induce hyperkalemia, and that transfusion-induced hyperkalemia easily develops even in a patient with mild renal dysfunction.
