Too Much Potassium (Hyperkalemia): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (E00-E90).

  • Diabetes mellitus (diabetes).
  • Gordon syndrome (synonym: pseudohypoaldosteronism type 2) – rare genetic form of hypertension (high blood pressure) characterized by hyperkalemia, mild hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis (metabolic acidosis), normal or elevated aldosterone, low renin with normal glomerular renal filtration rate (GFR).
  • Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
  • Hypoaldosteronism (primary and secondary; Addison’s disease) – decrease in blood aldosterone, which regulates electrolyte (salt)-water balance.
  • Metabolic acidosis/metabolic acidosis (especially chloracidosis).
  • Adrenocortical insufficiency (NNR insufficiency; adrenocortical insufficiency), primary
  • Pseudohypoaldosteronism, renal, type 1 – very rare genetic metabolic disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance or even sporadic cases, occurring as a mild form of primary mineralocorticoid resistance confined to the kidney; it is associated with hypotension (low blood pressure), hyperkalemia, and metabolic acidosis (metabolic acidosis), among other symptoms; age of manifestation: infant age, neonatal period.

Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).

  • Alcohol abuse (alcohol abuse)

Genitourinary system (kidneys, urinary tract – reproductive organs) (N00-N99).

  • Renal insufficiency, chronic (process leading to a slowly progressive reduction in renal function) (33-88% of cases)
  • Acute renal failure

Other differential diagnoses

  • Fasting
  • Alimentary: increased intake of potassium; hyperkalemia due to increased dietary potassium intake occurs only in patients with impaired renal function
  • Tissue breakdown (hemolysis/dissolution of red blood cells, trauma/injury, tumors, radiation therapy).

Medications

  • See also under “Causes” under medications