Administration of potassium by subcutaneous infusion in elderly patient

Abstract

Fluid administration by the subcutaneous route or hypodermoclysis was once a common procedure; the development of the intravenous drip infusion, however, led to its virtual abandonment. Recently, hypodermoclysis has been shown to be an excellent method for giving fluid supplements to elderly patients where their need is not urgent and has few side effects when modern equipment is used. Although the possibility of giving potassium by hypodermoclysis has been reported, we could not find a detailed description of the technique or of its practical applications. We describe our experience of giving potassium by the subcutaneous route.