TY - JOUR A2 - Tesch, Greg AU - Sandal, Shaifali AU - Karachiwala, Hatim AU - Noviasky, John AU - Wang, Dongliang AU - Elliott, William C. AU - Lehmann, David F. PY - 2012 DA - 2012/12/27 TI - To Bind or to Let Loose: Effectiveness of Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate in Decreasing Serum Potassium SP - 940320 VL - 2012 AB - Background. The use of sodium polystyrene sulfonate in decreasing serum potassium has recently been questioned due to the lack of documented effectiveness. Methods. A retrospective cohort analysis of all hospitalized patients who received sodium polystyrene sulfonate over four months was performed. The change in serum potassium was noted over a period of 24 hours. Patients who received any other form of potassium-altering drug or treatment were excluded. Results. The administration of sodium polystyrene sulfonate reduced serum potassium by 16.7% ( P < 0.001 ) as compared to the baseline serum potassium over a period of 24 hours. During this same time, no change in serum creatinine was identified ( P = 0.73 ). In addition, there was no correlation between potassium and creatinine change ( r ²= 0.0004 and P = 0.99 ). Patients with higher initial serum potassium (≥5.6 mEq/L) reduced their potassium concentration 4% more than those with initial serum potassium of <5.6 mEq/L; however, this reduction did not reach statistical significance ( P = 0.32 ). There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of 15 gm and 30 gm resin preparation ( P = 0.54 ). Thirteen deaths were noted in our cohort, of which one death was due to ischemic colitis. Conclusion. We conclude that sodium polystyrene sulfonate is effective in lowering serum potassium. SN - 2090-214X UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/940320 DO - 10.1155/2012/940320 JF - International Journal of Nephrology PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -