Intravenous Therapy

what are side affects of an intravenous potassium injection?

My husband was in the hospital. He had an intravenous potassium injection. Fast drip. After a 12 days his hand still swells and hurts to use it. Very tender to the touch. Could this be from the iv?

Public Comments

1. definitely. potassium is very irritating to the veins. hospitals have a protocol on how fast it can be infused (to fast results in cardiac arrythmias ans death)- if i remember right it's somewhere around 40meQ an hour- so if this was a small piggyback (2omeQ in 50ccNS), it should have been given over 30 minutes. it really needs to be with a pump and not by eyeballing a drip rate. the other complication of iv therapy is infiltration- when the needle slips out of vein and med goes into the tissues instead of the vein. ANY type of phlebitis (vein irritation) should be reported to the nurse- if he is out of the hospital, consult the primary. i hope it turns out ok and he is fine- but it * could* get ugly.
2. exactly. Keep an eye on it, and make sure he's drinking plenty of water to help the body clear out the potassium. Also- have him try to avoid high-potassium foods for the next few days, things like salt-free seasonings are the worst.
3. Thanks for the question. I'm sorry to hear about this. Good job, Snapper. But to clarify, there are limits to the infusion rate of a potassum solution, which depend on the type of peripheral venous access. If the patient has a standard peripheral venous catheter (ie, antecubital fossa or arm), the infusion rate should be 10 mEq/hour, which is safe and (usually) does not cause phlebitis, although I've seen an infusion rate as high as 15 mEq/hour given through a peripheral IV without problems. Under no circumstances should the infusion rate be higher through a peripheral IV. However, if the patient has a central venous cathether (CVC), then potssium may be infused safely at a higher rate. The standard rate through a CVC is 20 mEq/hour. I've never infused potassium faster than that through a CVC, but I believe that the maximum rate through a CVC is 40 mEq/hour. Further, if a peripheral IV is used, then the site of the catheter also plays a role in whether the vein becomes inflammed from the potassium solution. Infusion of potassium, even at a slow rate of 10 mEq/hour, through a hand vein is seldom tolerated, whereas a slow infusion through the antecubital vein is well-tolerated. I agree with Snapper. Your husband's hand should be examined by a physician so that treatments can be adminstered. Finally, I don't know what rate of infusion that your husband had received, but it's a shame, because if your husband was able tolerate oral intake, then the potassium (if his blood level was low and needed prompt replacment), could have been remedied more effectively through an oral pill or suspension. This may sound counterintuitive to lay persons, but a low blood potassium can actually be replenished faster and more safely though the oral route, because a higher dose of potassium can be absorbed in the stomach/small intestine quickly and be safely diluted into the enterohepatic circulation than the same dose of through a periperhal vein without the risks of causing heart arrhythmias or vein inflammation. Please, keep this in mind. Good luck.