Abstract
Electrolyte and fluid disturbance was studied in a series of 54 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and 43 with intracerebral hematoma. All of the patients were hospitalized directly within 6 hours of onset. Nearly half of the cases presented hypokalemia (serum K<3.4 mEq/l) and hyperglycemia on admission, which returned to normal or near normal spontaneously within a few days. Severity of hypokalemia and hyperglycemia seemed correlated with neurological severity and subsequent mortality, but not with the site of hematoma. In the hypokalemic group, the level of serum catecholamin was significantly higher, but urinary potassium, serum insulin and blood gases remained within normal limits. A likely explanation is that this transient hypokalemia is due to a shift of potassium into the cells rather than a true body depletion, possibly caused by an overactivity of sympathetic nervous system.
