Severe muscle weakness due to hyperkalemia.

Hyperkalemia is a commonly encountered electrolyte disturbance in patients with renal insufficiency. It develops very rapidly when potassium is supplemented while a patient is on a potassium-sparing diuretic. Most often it remains asymptomatic and manifests in the form of electrocardiographic changes. Muscle weakness and paralysis although described is seldom observed in clinical practice. We report one such case.