1. Intravenous flucloxacillin treatment is associated with a high incidence of hypokalaemia.
- Author
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van der Heijden CDCC, Duizer ML, Fleuren HWHA, Veldman BA, Sprong T, Dofferhoff ATSM, and Kramers C
- Subjects
- Administration, Intravenous, Aged, Anti-Bacterial Agents administration & dosage, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Cohort Studies, Female, Floxacillin administration & dosage, Floxacillin therapeutic use, Humans, Hypokalemia epidemiology, Incidence, Male, Potassium blood, Retrospective Studies, Staphylococcal Infections blood, Anti-Bacterial Agents adverse effects, Floxacillin adverse effects, Hypokalemia chemically induced, Staphylococcal Infections drug therapy
- Abstract
Intravenous flucloxacillin is one of the most frequently used high-dose penicillin therapies in hospitalized patients, forming the cornerstone treatment of invasive Staphylococcus aureus infection. Being a nonreabsorbable anion, flucloxacillin has been suggested to cause hypokalaemia, although the frequency and magnitude of this unwanted effect is unknown. In a retrospective cohort, we investigated the incidence and extent of hypokalaemia after initiation of intravenous flucloxacillin or ceftriaxone therapy. In total, 77 patients receiving flucloxacillin (62% male, mean age 70.5 years) and 84 patients receiving ceftriaxone (46% male, mean age 70.8 years) were included. Hypokalaemia occurred significantly more often in patients receiving flucloxacillin than ceftriaxone (42% vs 14%, p < 10
-4 ). Moreover, follow-up potassium levels were significantly lower during flucloxacillin therapy. In general, women were more prone to develop hypokalaemia than men. In conclusion, intravenous flucloxacillin use is associated with a striking incidence of hypokalaemia. Therefore, standardized potassium measurements are necessary., (© 2019 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.)- Published
- 2019
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