Dynamics of serum potassium change during acute respiratory alkalosis.

In summary, one should be aware that hyperventilation and hypokalaemia occur frequently in the operating room under ordinary clinical conditions. An awareness of the rapidity with which these changes occur, and their extent as well as their potential hazards, should cause consideration of more aggressive attempts to maintain normocarbia and to use supplemental potassium during anaesthesia, particularly in patients with cardiac disease.