Table 4.

Suggested supplementation regimen [8,12,72,73,74,75,76].

	Potassium	Magnesium	Phosphate
Mild deficiency	3.1–3.5 mmol/L Oral replacement with 20 mmol (as KCl or other salts) OR i.v. replacement with 20 mmol KCl over 4 to 8 h. Check levels the next day.	0.5–0.7 mmol/L Oral replacement with 10–15 mmol MgCl2 or Mg-citrate or Mg-L-aspartate Oral Mg should be given in divided doses to minimize diarrhea (absorption process is saturated at about 5–10 mmol Mg)	0.61–0.8 mmol/L Oral replacement with 0.3 mmol/kg/day PO4 (divided doses to minimize diarrhea) OR i.v. replacement with 0.3 mmol/kg/day PO4 (as K3PO4 or Na3PO4) over 8–12 h. Check levels the next day.
Moderate deficiency	2.5–3.0 mmol/L i.v. replacement with 20–40 mmol KCl over 4–8 h. Check levels after 8 h; if not normal, give an additional 20 mmol KCl.		0.32–0.6 mmol/L i.v. replacement with 0.6 mmol/kg/day PO4 (as K3PO4 or Na3PO4) over 8–12 h. Check levels after 8–12 h and repeat infusion if necessary (max. of 50 mmol PO4 in 24 h).
Severe deficiency	<2.5 mmol/L i.v. replacement with 40 mmol KCl over 4–8 h. Check levels after 8 h; if not normal, give an additional 40 mmol KCl.	<0.5 mmol/L i.v. replacement with 20–24 mmol MgSO4 (4–6 g) over 4–8 h. Reassess every 8 to 12 h.	<0.32 mmol/L Same replacement therapy as for moderate deficiency.