February 2010 Br J Cardiol 2010;17:47–8
Tauseef H Mehrali, Yoganathan Suthahar, Nikhil Tirlapur
Abstract
Case report
An 86-year-old man presented to Accident and Emergency (A&E) feeling generally unwell and increasingly confused. Following an assessment, the doctors diagnosed a urinary tract infection (confirmed on dipstick) and discharged him with a standard course of trimethoprim. After a few days, he was readmitted with falls and increasing lethargy.
Figure 1. Patient’s electrocardiogram (ECG) on admission – characteristic of severe hyperkalaemia
His electrocardiogram (ECG) on admission showed widened QRS complexes and significantly prolonged QT/QTc intervals (figure 1).
Figure 2. Patient’s ECG following treatment – complexes retu
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