The importance of potassium after operation.

A deficiency of potassium in a patient after operation is manifest clinically by anorexia, malaise, apathy, weakness, abdominal distention and hypochloremia. Many patients who have had a prolonged disturbance in nutrition may have a "subclinical" hypopotassemia. Prophylaxis by means of replacement of the potassium excreted daily in the urine is the ideal treatment. When the clinical picture of potassium deficit develops, the amount of the potassium ion needed for replacement should be calculated on the basis of the total amount of water in the body of the patient.