Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients (N = 2596)
| K <3.5 mmol/L | K: 3.5–3.8 mmol/L | K: 3.9–4.2 mmol/L | K: 4.3–4.5 mmol/L | K: 4.6–5.0 mmol/L | K: 5.1–5.5 mmol/L | K >5.5 mmol/L | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||||||
| Female | 77 (60.63%) | 156 (51.83%) | 341 (44.87%) | 210 (39.4%) | 247 (38.53%) | 93 (53.45%) | 35 (58.33%) | 1159 (44.65%) |
| Male | 50 (39.37%) | 145 (48.17%) | 419 (55.13%) | 323 (60.6%) | 394 (61.47%) | 81 (46.55%) | 25 (41.67%) | 1437 (55.35%) |
| Age | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 77.40 ± 10.77 | 75.85 ± 11.48 | 75.91 ± 11.29 | 74.42 ± 11.82 | 75.57 ± 11.36 | 78.90 ± 9.66 | 79.96 ± 9.17 | 75.88 ± 11.33 |
| Renal insufficiency | 41 (32.28%) | 108 (35.88%) | 264 (34.74%) | 198 (37.15%) | 325 (50.7%) | 117 (67.24%) | 52 (86.67%) | 1105 (42.56%) |
| Diabetes | 19 (14.96%) | 46 (15.28%) | 123 (16.18%) | 89 (16.7%) | 159 (24.8%) | 39 (22.41%) | 21 (35%) | 496 (19.11%) |
| Anaemia | 68 (53.54%) | 155 (51.49%) | 309 (40.66%) | 248 (46.53%) | 296 (46.18%) | 91 (52.3%) | 31 (51.67%) | 1198 (46.15%) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 18 (14.17%) | 37 (12.29%) | 87 (11.45%) | 50 (9.4%) | 69 (10.8%) | 22 (12.64%) | 7 (11.67%) | 290 (11.17%) |
| COPD | 15 (11.81%) | 48 (15.95%) | 95 (12.5%) | 51 (9.57%) | 68 (10.61%) | 19 (10.92%) | 8 (13.33%) | 304 (11.71%) |
| Stroke | 26 (20.47%) | 52 (17.28%) | 122 (16.05%) | 83 (15.6%) | 109 (17%) | 39 (22.41%) | 14 (23.33%) | 445 (17.14%) |
| Hypertension | 70 (55.12%) | 165 (54.82%) | 376 (49.47%) | 231 (43.34%) | 308 (48.05%) | 94 (54.02%) | 30 (50%) | 1274 (49.1%) |
| Potassium supplements | 79 (62.2%) | 229 (76.08%) | 595 (78.29%) | 418 (78.42%) | 497 (77.53%) | 115 (66.1%) | 50 (83.33%) | 1983 (76.39%) |
| ACEIs/ARBs | 24 (18.9%) | 67 (22.26%) | 232 (30.53%) | 201 (37.71%) | 229 (35.71%) | 46 (26.44%) | 14 (23.33%) | 813 (31.32%) |
| Beta-blockers | 44 (34.65%) | 111 (36.88%) | 294 (38.68%) | 269 (50.47%) | 286 (44.62%) | 77 (44.25%) | 21 (35%) | 1102 (42.45%) |
| Potassium-sparing diuretics | 8 (6.3%) | 17 (5.65%) | 55 (7.24%) | 67 (12.57%) | 102 (15.91%) | 32 (18.4%) | 14 (23.33%) | 295 (11.36%) |
| Loop diuretics strength (mg) | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 39.69 ± 6.03 | 39.90 ± 6.14 | 40.80 ± 19.35 | 40.04 ± 5.85 | 40.16 ± 6.21 | 39.43 ± 6.24 | 41.00 ± 6.56 | 40.24 ± 11.66 |
| Loop diuretics no. of packages redeemed | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 1.01 ± 0.09 | 1.02 ± 0.17 | 1.03 ± 0.20 | 1.02 ± 0.17 | 1.01 ± 0.13 | 1.01 ± 0.11 | 1.02 ± 0.13 | 1.02 ± 0.16 |
| Loop diuretics no. of drugs in a package | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 113.97 ± 63.27 | 116.96 ± 62.37 | 113.65 ± 65.90 | 108.26 ± 55.67 | 113.98 ± 60.59 | 112.57 ± 62.55 | 117.47 ± 63.67 | 113.04 ± 61.77 |
| Day at loop diuretic reclaim | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 24.94 ± 18.71 | 21.45 ± 17.69 | 19.86 ± 16.51 | 19.05 ± 16.09 | 21.13 ± 16.86 | 19.33 ± 14.49 | 20.05 ± 14.15 | 20.41 ± 16.63 |
| Day at potassium measurement | ||||||||
| Mean ± SD | 41.21 ± 21.91 | 43.17 ± 22.43 | 41.69 ± 22.07 | 42.96 ± 22.98 | 40.83 ± 22.49 | 38.54 ± 20.14 | 39.70 ± 21.38 | 41.63 ± 22.27 |
| Death—90 days | ||||||||
| Alive | 107 (84.25%) | 260 (86.38%) | 704 (92.63%) | 490 (91.93%) | 573 (89.39%) | 147 (84.5%) | 37 (61.67%) | 2318 (89.3%) |
| Deceased | 20 (15.75%) | 41 (13.62%) | 56 (7.37%) | 43 (8.07%) | 68 (10.61%) | 27 (15.5%) | 23 (38.33%) | 278 (10.7%) |
Data are presented as mean ± SD (age) or number of patients and percentage (all others).
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ACE-I/ARBs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker.