Treating interdialytic hyperkalemia with fludrocortisone.

Hyperkalemia is a frequent and dangerous problem in dialysis patients. Many factors contribute to potentially life-threatening potassium elevation and most remedies used to treat hyperkalemia are handicapped by the consequences of the separate pools of intra- and extracellular potassium. Besides the kidney, the colon has the ability to excrete potassium, which can help lower total body potassium. Several prior authors have addressed the colon's ability to up-regulate potassium secretion, including the effect of aldosterone on fecal potassium content. Potentially dangerous intradialytic maneuvers to lower potassium levels may be avoidable with the use of the mineralocorticoid agonist fludrocortisone.