Summary: The mortality rate in the course of COVID-19 reaches up to a few percent. In a certain percentage of cases, its causes might be potentially reversible, but could lead to sudden cardiac arrest. One of them is certainly hypokalemia. The data from registries conducted in several centers around the world show that hypokalemia is a fairly frequent phenomenon in patients treated for COVID-19, and there is some data indicating its association with a worse course of the disease, including the development of ARDS and the need for mechanical ventilation support.
Avoiding hypokalemia is especially desirable in patients with coexisting cardiovascular disorders, as it significantly translates into the reduction of life-threatening arrhythmias and ‒ indirectly ‒ mortality. Missing it, or worse ‒ noticing but ignoring it, in such cases can be a final nail in the coffin for a patient hospitalized due to COVID-19, and cause many problems for the attending physician.
The paper synthetically presents the latest reports on the asso-ciation of hypokalemia with COVID-19, its potential causes and its relationship with the clinical course of the infection.