REVIEW Potassium
Research type
Research Study
Full title
BuRden of hyperkalaemia and EValuatIon of changEs to therapy With renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors following episodes of elevated Potassium (REVIEW Potassium)
IRAS ID
260265
Contact name
Paul R Kalra
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04249648
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
High potassium level in blood (hyperkalaemia) is one of the reasons for admission to hospital. It can also develop during a hospital stay. High levels of potassium can lead to life threatening arrhythmias therefore healthcare professionals are worried when potassium levels are high. There might be different causes of hyperkalaemia - for example, impaired kidney function, severe infection (sepsis). Some medications, including renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi), can contribute to or cause hyperkalaemia. RAASi are good for the heart muscle and help to make people with certain heart conditions (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)) live longer and have fewer hospital admissions.
Sometimes patients with high potassium levels have their RAASi medications stopped or reduced. Currently we have a limited understanding how often patients who are in hospitals present or develop hyperkalaemia and how often this leads to stopping/reducing RAASi. In addition, it is poorly understood how often hyperkalaemia prevents healthcare professionals achieve optimal doses of RAASi in patients with new diagnosis of HFrEF.
Even less is known about how healthcare professionals approach the management of different levels of hyperkalaemia, and how it impacts on the way they adjust ehd doses of RAASi for a variety medical conditions. This includes patients who have a diagnosis fo HFrEF.
The proposed study consists of 3 sub-studies. Sub-study 1 is looking at how common is hyperkalaemia in patients attending emergency department and those who are admitted to hospital, and what happens to RAASi medications in these patients. Sub-study 2 includes patients with new diagnosis of HFrEF and how often these patients develop hyperkalaemia over 1 year as they RAASi drugs are optimised (according to recommendations on treating patients with HFrEF). Sub-study 3 is a questionnaire looking at decision making process of health-care professionals who are likely to treat patients with hyperkalaemia.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
20/WA/0105
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion