Acute hypokalemia as a possible cause of death in a patient with advanced muscular dystrophy.

A patient with advanced muscular dystrophy of the Duchenne type developed severe hypokalemia thought to be secondary to moderate gastro-intestinal losses in association with reduced intracellular potassium stores. With correction of the hypokalemia, the cardiac rhythm became more normal. In patients with advanced dystrophy, hypokalemia may be functionally significant.