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. 2019 Dec 30;7(1):2. doi: 10.3390/medicines7010002

Table 1.

Baseline clinical characteristics.

Variables All Serum Potassium Level at Hospital Admission (mEq/L)
≤2.9 3.0–3.4 3.5–3.9 4.0–4.4 4.5–4.9 5.0–5.4 ≥5.5 p
N 73,983 700 3943 17,315 29,815 16,381 4463 1366
Age (year) 61 ± 18 59 ± 18 60 ± 19 58 ± 19 61 ± 18 63 ± 17 66 ± 16 67 ± 16 <0.001
Male 38,973 (53) 273 (39) 1556 (39) 7999 (46) 16,131 (54) 9522 (58) 2670 (60) 822 (60) <0.001
Caucasian 68,809 (93) 642 (92) 3562 (9) 15,819 (91) 27,791 (93) 15,497 (95) 4220 (95) 1278 (94) <0.001
eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) 80 ± 26 82 ± 34 84 ± 28 86 ± 26 82 ± 25 76 ± 25 67 ± 27 54 ± 27 <0.001
Principal diagnosis <0.001
  • -

    Cardiovascular

15,716 (21) 128 (18) 844 (21) 3747 (22) 6291 (21) 3380 (21) 1019 (23) 307 (22)
  • -

    Endocrine/Metabolic

1879 (3) 75 (11) 137 (3) 384 (2) 558 (2) 459 (3) 158 (4) 108 (8)
  • -

    Gastrointestinal

6920 (9) 80 (11) 537 (14) 1824 (11) 2594 (9) 1335 (8) 429 (10) 121 (9)
  • -

    Hematology/Oncology

11,558 (16) 59 (8) 347 (9) 2000 (12) 4756 (16) 3209 (20) 953 (21) 234 (17)
  • -

    Infectious Disease

2171 (3) 51 (7) 269 (7) 600 (3) 705 (2) 374 (2) 111 (2) 61 (4)
  • -

    Respiratory

2968 (4) 25 (4) 213 (5) 638 (4) 1098 (4) 673 (4) 222 (5) 99 (7)
  • -

    Injury/Poisoning

11,434 (15) 140 (20) 699 (18) 3070 (18) 4573 (15) 2248 (14) 528 (11) 176 (13)
  • -

    Other

21,337 (29) 142 (20) 897 (23) 5052 (29) 9240 (31) 4703 (29) 1043 (23) 260 (19)
Charlson score 1.7 ± 2.3 1.8 ± 2.5 1.7 ± 2.3 1.5 ± 2.2 1.6 ± 2.2 1.9 ± 2.4 2.3 ± 2.6 2.8 ± 2.7 <0.001
Comorbidities
  • -

    CAD

5260 (7) 38 (5) 227 (6) 1009 (6) 2042 (7) 1347 (8) 423 (9) 174 (13) <0.001
  • -

    CHF

4679 (6) 60 (9) 275 (7) 965 (6) 1665 (6) 1112 (7) 421 (9) 181 (13) <0.001
  • -

    PVD

2065 (3) 20 (3) 106 (3) 371 (2) 736 (2) 552 (3) 199 (4) 81 (6) <0.001
  • -

    Stroke

5228 (7) 52 (7) 315 (8) 1118 (6) 1944 (7) 1247 (8) 398 (9) 154 (11) <0.001
  • -

    DM

13,752 (19) 114 (16) 669 (17) 2743 (16) 5096 (17) 3414 (21) 1206 (27) 510 (37) <0.001
  • -

    COPD

6131 (8) 56 (8) 326 (8) 1197 (7) 2227 (7) 1518 (9) 586 (13) 221 (16) <0.001
  • -

    Cirrhosis

1713 (3) 24 (3) 114 (3) 408 (2) 581 (2) 369 (2) 150 (3) 67 (5) <0.001
Medications
  • -

    ACEI/ARB

20,068 (27) 162 (23) 974 (25) 4067 (23) 7930 (27) 4745 (29) 1627 (36) 563 (41) <0.001
  • -

    Diuretics

22,020 (30) 341 (49) 1659 (42) 5452 (31) 7974 (27) 4508 (28) 1490 (33) 596 (44) <0.001
  • -

    Potassium supplement

8317 (11) 401 (57) 1025 (26) 2246 (13) 2731 (9) 1336 (8) 431 (10) 147 (11) <0.001
Acute kidney injury 7602 (10) 113 (16) 404 (10) 1295 (7) 2303 (8) 1955 (12) 953 (21) 579 (42) <0.001
Mechanical ventilation 6949 (9) 131 (19) 646 (16) 2008 (12) 2498 (8) 1165 (7) 338 (8) 163 (12) <0.001
Electrolyte at admission
  • -

    Sodium

138 ± 4 137 ± 7 138 ± 5 138 ± 4 138 ± 4 138 ± 4 137 ± 4 136 ± 5 <0.001
  • -

    Chloride

103 ± 5 101 ± 11 103 ± 6 103 ± 5 103 ± 4 103 ± 4 103 ± 5 102 ± 6 <0.001
  • -

    Bicarbonate

25 ± 3 25 ± 7 25 ± 4 25 ± 3 25 ± 3 25 ± 3 25 ± 4 24 ± 5 <0.001

Continuous data are presented as mean ± SD; categorical data are presented as count (%); ACEI/ARB, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker; CAD, coronary artery disease; CHF, congestive heart failure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DM, diabetes mellitus; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; PVD, peripheral vascular disease.