Hypokalemic periodic paralysis secondary to renal tubular acidosis.

A 62-year-old woman with distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA) and hypokalemic muscle paralysis is described. As neither the history nor the clinical examination can differentiate between hypokalemic paralysis caused by RTA and that of familial hypokalemic paralysis, and because the emergency as well as prophylactic treatment of the two disorders are quite different, a simple differential diagnostic workup is emphasized.