Background: Hypokalemia induced by diuretic abuse is a life-threatening emergency.Case presentation: A 22-years-old female nurse with a body mass index 18 suffered from myalgias, vomiting and diarrhea. Blood tests revealed hypokalemia with a lowest value of 1.1 mmol/l, moderate hyponatremia, metabolic alkalosis, mild renal insufficiency and creatinphosphokinase-elevation. Since hypokalemia and alkalosis were unexplained, she was asked for diuretic-intake. She confessed that she has taken 250 mg furosemide/day for the last 4 months to improve the shape of her muscles. Furosemide tablets were given to her by a physician attending the gym where she exercised. After electrolyte substitution, laboratory abnormalities regressed and no cardiac arrests were observed. Psychiatric investigation diagnosed an adjustment disorder.Conclusion: Furosemide abuse has to be considered even in underweight individuals, especially if they have a psychiatric instability or work in health care institutions. © 2013 Ruisz et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Ruisz, W., Stöllberger, C., Finsterer, J., & Weidinger, F. (2013). Furosemide-induced severe hypokalemia with rhabdomyolysis without cardiac arrest. BMC Women’s Health, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-13-30
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