Prevalence Of Hyperkalemia Following Massive Transfusion In Trauma

Objective: Focusing upon severely traumatized patients who receive massive transfusion(MT), the researchers sought to know the changes that take place in their circulating blood, andthe proportion of hyperkalemia occurrences so as to provide predictive evidences for clinicalresuscitation.Method: Data from the medical records of 100 massively transfused trauma patients wererespectively analyzed. The records dated from between August 2004 and December 2005.Measured data were collected from the medical records, the proportion of hyperkalemia wascalculated, and the relationship was scrutinized between serum potassium (K+) and its potentialindicators.Result: There was a 7.14% prevalence of postoperative hyperkalemia in the studiedsubjects. A significant difference was found between pre-transfusion and post-transfusion K+. Amultiple linear regression revealed regression relationship between postoperative K+andpostoperative serum pH (P<0.001), but the following variables were deemed irrelevant: age, andthe amount of intraoperatively transfused packed red blood cells. As shown by a logisticregression, the regression equation with postoperative pH as its only variable had a highregression coefficient (Nagelkerke R2=0.637).Conclusion: The studied trauma patients had a low proportion of hyperkalemia occurrencesafter MT. Regression relationship was not found between serum K+and the amount ofintraoperatively transfused packed RBCs, but was revealed between serum K+and postoperativeserum pH.