# Hypokalaemia (mild-to-moderate) - Category: chronic - Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page) - Sources: Egyptian National Drug Formulary - Cardiovascular 2024 · Klor-Con M (potassium chloride extended-release) US prescribing information, Dosage and Administration (DailyMed, Upsher-Smith) · Castro D, Sharma S. Hypokalemia. [Updated 2025 Jan 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Bookshelf ID: NBK482465. PMID: 29494072. - Verified date: 2026-08 ## Verified against - Klor-Con M (potassium chloride extended-release) US prescribing information, Dosage and Administration (DailyMed, Upsher-Smith) - Castro D, Sharma S. Hypokalemia. [Updated 2025 Jan 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Bookshelf ID: NBK482465. PMID: 29494072. ## Treatment metadata - Potassium chloride — 600 mg — oral.solid ## Complete treatment card ```text HYPOKALAEMIA (MILD-TO-MODERATE) Sources: Egyptian National Drug Formulary - Cardiovascular 2024 · Klor-Con M (potassium chloride extended-release) US prescribing information, Dosage and Administration (DailyMed, Upsher- Smith) · Castro D, Sharma S. Hypokalemia. [Updated 2025 Jan 19]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Bookshelf ID: NBK482465. PMID: 29494072. Review status: REVIEWED against 2 sources listed above (2026-08) IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (8) - Weak muscles, cramps and spasms, tiredness, palpitations, constipation and abdominal discomfort [abdominal pain · constipation · fatigue · muscle cramps · muscle weakness · palpitations] - Clues to the cause: diuretics, laxatives, poor intake, vomiting, or a family condition [vomiting] - Nothing shows until potassium falls below 3 mmol/L, unless the drop was sudden or another disease amplifies it - How bad the symptoms are tracks how low and how long, and they clear once the potassium is replaced - Marked weakness appears below 2.5 mmol/L, or at higher levels when the fall was sudden - Red flag: weakness climbs from the legs upward and can reach the breathing muscles, causing respiratory failure and death - Gut features are nausea, vomiting, a still bowel and a distended abdomen [abdominal distension · nausea · vomiting] - Periodic paralysis from low potassium is a rare inherited or acquired disorder in which potassium shifts into cells, with attacks of weakness that can reach the breathing muscles and kill [paralysis] SIGNS - what you find (8) - Blood pressure may be high or normal, so measuring it is essential and it splits the causes - The heart may show an arrhythmia or signs of failure [arrhythmia] - The abdomen may be tender with quiet bowel sounds - Marked muscle weakness, and with it poor expansion of the chest on breathing in [muscle weakness] - Wasted muscles point to a long-standing deficiency rather than a sudden one - Neurologically, reflexes are abnormal and there may be tingling: reduced in periodic paralysis, malnutrition and diuretic use, brisk in alkalosis and after inhaled beta-agonists [paralysis · tingling] - A buffalo hump, rounded face and abdominal stretch marks point to Cushing disease as the setting [stretch marks] - In malnutrition look for other deficiency signs: wasting, wounds that will not heal, and bad teeth [muscle wasting] TESTS (12) - Serum electrolytes gauge severity and catch companions: alkalosis can carry low potassium, calcium and magnesium together - Chloride runs high when the kidney is wasting potassium and low in the alkalosis of vomiting - Urine potassium separates kidney loss from other causes; ideally a 24-hour collection, and more than 30 mEq a day means the kidney is at fault - As alternatives, a spot urine potassium above 15, or a potassium to creatinine ratio above 13 mEq/mmol, also means renal loss - Then check acid-base with a blood gas: acidosis or alkalosis, with or without renal wasting, narrows the cause - Commonest ECG changes: smaller T waves, ST depression, a U wave and a long QT, in that order, with the PR interval also lengthening - The U wave shows best in leads V4 to V6 and can be hard to separate from the T wave, and not everyone shows the classic pattern - Rhythms it can produce: atrial and ventricular ectopics, sinus bradycardia, paroxysmal atrial or junctional tachycardia, AV block, and ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation - Severe depletion brings torsades de pointes; the risk is greatest in older people, in heart disease, and on digoxin or antiarrhythmics - ECG change usually needs a moderate or severe fall, but varies widely between people, and low magnesium or digitalis can trigger arrhythmia at mild levels - Check magnesium too: it is often low alongside, worsens the picture, raises the torsades risk with QT-prolonging drugs, and blocks successful potassium replacement - Imaging may find a structural cause: renal ultrasound for cysts, tumour or obstruction, and CT or MRI for adrenal or brain lesions IF NOT THIS - what else fits (9) - Endocrine: overactive thyroid, thyrotoxicosis, Conn syndrome - Treatment-related: long-term corticosteroids, insulin therapy - Congenital: Bartter syndrome and hypokalaemic periodic paralysis - Kidney: renal tubular acidosis and osmotic diuresis - Gut losses: laxative abuse and vomiting - Too little coming in: eating disorders and restrictive diets - Loss through the skin from heavy sweating - Shift into cells: the alkalosis of chronic lung disease, or the acidosis of diabetic ketoacidosis - Other electrolytes low at the same time: calcium and magnesium Source StatPearls "Hypokalemia" - disease-level clinical article Status traced to the source above 1. POTASSIUM CHLORIDE [1st line] Adult 3.0-7.5 g (40-100 mmol) daily in divided doses after meals - until resolved Peds 75-150 mg/kg/day [child max 7500 mg] (1-2 mmol/kg (75-150 mg/kg) daily in divided doses) 3kg -> 225-450 mg/day 4kg -> 300-600 mg/day 5kg -> 375-750 mg/day 6kg -> 450-900 mg/day 7kg -> 525-1050 mg/day 8kg -> 600-1200 mg/day 9kg -> 675-1350 mg/day 10kg -> 750-1500 mg/day 11kg -> 825-1650 mg/day 12kg -> 900-1800 mg/day 13kg -> 975-1950 mg/day 14kg -> 1050-2100 mg/day 15kg -> 1125-2250 mg/day 16kg -> 1200-2400 mg/day 17kg -> 1275-2550 mg/day 18kg -> 1350-2700 mg/day 19kg -> 1425-2850 mg/day 20kg -> 1500-3000 mg/day 21kg -> 1575-3150 mg/day 22kg -> 1650-3300 mg/day 23kg -> 1725-3450 mg/day 24kg -> 1800-3600 mg/day 25kg -> 1875-3750 mg/day 26kg -> 1950-3900 mg/day 27kg -> 2025-4050 mg/day 28kg -> 2100-4200 mg/day 29kg -> 2175-4350 mg/day 30kg -> 2250-4500 mg/day 31kg -> 2325-4650 mg/day 32kg -> 2400-4800 mg/day 33kg -> 2475-4950 mg/day 34kg -> 2550-5100 mg/day 35kg -> 2625-5250 mg/day 36kg -> 2700-5400 mg/day 37kg -> 2775-5550 mg/day 38kg -> 2850-5700 mg/day 39kg -> 2925-5850 mg/day 40kg -> 3000-6000 mg/day 41kg -> 3075-6150 mg/day 42kg -> 3150-6300 mg/day 43kg -> 3225-6450 mg/day 44kg -> 3300-6600 mg/day 45kg -> 3375-6750 mg/day 46kg -> 3450-6900 mg/day 47kg -> 3525-7050 mg/day 48kg -> 3600-7200 mg/day 49kg -> 3675-7350 mg/day 50kg -> 3750-7500 mg/day Source Klor-Con M (potassium chloride extended-release) US prescribing information, Dosage and Administration (DailyMed, Upsher-Smith) Why Direct oral potassium replacement for mild-to-moderate hypokalaemia, correcting the deficit that predisposes to arrhythmia and muscle weakness. Caution Sustained-release (SR) tablets must be swallowed whole with food and water; do NOT crush or chew. Take with or after food with plenty of water to prevent GI ulceration. Monitor serum potassium and renal function regularly. Contraindicated in hyperkalaemia, severe renal failure, and addisonian crisis. No single dose above 20 mEq (about 1.5 g). If the day's total is higher than that, it has to be split - a large single load is what ulcerates the gut wall. Anything that slows a tablet through the gut - stricture, obstruction, an anticholinergic - rules out the solid form. A tablet that stops moving sits and burns. Egypt GEO POTA-K 600 SR 30 TABS. MARCYRL PHARM... 60.00 EGP (2.00/unit) -> ? strength differs SANSO POTASSIUM 200 MG 28 TABS. AUG PHARMA 120.00 EGP (4.29/unit) -> ? strength differs POTASSIUM M 3.3GM/100ML SYRUP 120ML EL NILE. 29.00 EGP -> ? strength differs, ? different route - not oral solid SANSO POTASSIUM SYRUP 160 ML AUG PHARMA 120.00 EGP -> ? strength differs, ? different route - not oral solid Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy. ``` --- Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement. [Privacy policy](/privacy)