Stapleton Liam J
Senior House Officer, NHS Lanarkshire.
Scott Med J. 2018 Feb;63(1):28-31. doi: 10.1177/0036933017727420. Epub 2017 Aug 25.
Hypokalaemic periodic paralysis is a rare skeletal muscle channelopathy causing flaccid paralysis, which predominantly presents in adolescents and young adults. I report a case of a 33-year-old Caucasian man who presented with sudden onset paralysis, following previous similar presentations without investigation. Blood tests revealed undetectable serum potassium levels in the context of paralysis. Other causes of hypokalaemia were excluded, and the patient was treated with planned lifelong prophylactic potassium replacement for a diagnosis of primary hypokalaemic periodic paralysis. This case demonstrates that, although rare, hypokalaemic periodic paralysis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in young patients who present with sudden flaccid paralysis and can easily be excluded by checking serum potassium levels at presentation.
低钾性周期性麻痹是一种罕见的导致弛缓性麻痹的骨骼肌离子通道病，主要发生于青少年和青年成人。我报告一例33岁的白人男性病例，该患者此前有过类似发作但未进行检查，此次出现突发麻痹。血液检查显示在麻痹状态下血清钾水平无法检测到。排除了低钾血症的其他病因，该患者被诊断为原发性低钾性周期性麻痹，并接受了计划性终身预防性补钾治疗。该病例表明，尽管低钾性周期性麻痹罕见，但对于出现突发弛缓性麻痹的年轻患者应考虑将其作为鉴别诊断，且通过在发病时检查血清钾水平可轻易排除。
