Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Faculty of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan.
BMC Nephrol. 2023 Mar 24;24(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s12882-023-03131-3.
Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) is a rare channelopathy characterized by episodic attacks of acute muscle weakness concomitant with hypokalemia. The etiology of hypokalemia is the shift of potassium into the cells, and the clinical symptoms resolve when potassium starts to leak back to the serum. Most of the time, the underlying ion channel defects are well compensated, and an additional trigger is often required to initiate an attack. Well-known trigger factors include carbohydrate-rich meals, exercise followed by rest, stress, cold weather, and alcohol consumption.
Here, we present the case of a 26-year-old Asian man who suffered from an acute onset of bilateral lower limb weakness with hypokalemia following dexamethasone injection. He was diagnosed with HPP.
We would like to remind physicians to think of steroids as an unusual precipitating factor while managing patients with HPP, per results of this case study.
低钾周期性麻痹（HPP）是一种罕见的通道病，其特征是周期性发作的急性肌无力伴低钾血症。低钾血症的病因是钾向细胞内转移，当钾开始漏回血清时，临床症状就会缓解。大多数情况下，潜在的离子通道缺陷得到了很好的补偿，通常需要额外的触发因素来引发发作。众所周知的触发因素包括富含碳水化合物的饮食、运动后休息、压力、寒冷天气和饮酒。
这里，我们介绍了一例 26 岁亚洲男性的病例，他在接受地塞米松注射后出现低钾血症伴急性双侧下肢无力。他被诊断为 HPP。
根据本病例研究结果，我们想提醒医生在治疗 HPP 患者时要将类固醇视为一种不常见的诱发因素。
