Thailand Medical News Exclusive: Many Exposed To The SARS-CoV-2 Are Experiencing Mild To Moderate Hypokalemia Or Fluctuations In Potassium Levels!
Medical News - Post COVID Hypokalemia Dec 25, 2022 1 year, 10 months, 4 weeks, 14 hours, 12 minutes ago
Medical News: Experiencing tiredness, weakness, muscle cramps, tingling or numbness, muscle cramps, occasional constipation, random bouts of confusion, occasional increase in urination, headaches and even light chest pains or discomfort? If you are.... then you are among the millions of individuals who are suffering from mild or moderate Hypokalemia, which is low levels of potassium in the blood.
For some, the symptoms mentioned may not be always and instead are random or occasional and this is because many who have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, besides having persistent mild or moderate hypokalemia can also suffer constant fluctuations in their potassium levels.
Many are not even aware that they have suffering from hypokalemia and would require a proper blood test to determine their blood potassium levels.
Thailand
Medical News had covered as early as March 2020 that hypokalemia was affecting majority of individuals who contracted COVID-19.
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-research-updates-chinese-study-reveals-that-hypokalemia-present-in-almost-all-covid-19-patients
Numerous studies have since emerged confirmed that irrespective of what ever SARS-CoV-2 variants one has been exposed to and irrespective of whether one was asymptomatic or had mild, moderate or severe symptomatic infections, one was at a high risk of developing hypokalemia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7781399/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2767008
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.14.20131169v1
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0049475520978174
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7781399/
https://www.cureus.com/articles/56183-gastrointestinal-symptoms-in-association-with-hypokalemia-can-be-a-predictor-of-inferior-outcomes-in-covid-19
Some of these studies also dispel the fallacy that hypokalemia only occurs in patients with disease severity though the manifestation of hypokalemia does contribute to disease severity and also increased risk of mortality.
Possible causes of hypokalemia in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection may result from hyper-activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), gastrointestinal losses, anorexia secondary to con
current illness and tubular damage caused by ischemia. The actual detailed mechanisms have yet to be uncovered.
However, no studies have properly addressed the issue of hypokalemia in Post COVID or Long COVID individuals.
To date, only one documented cases study shows a Post COVID-19 patient who suffered from hypokalemia for as long as five months since disease onset.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2049080121000509
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7839393/
One past study did briefly mention about the Post COVID occurrence of hypokalemia and how it could give rise to cardiac issues.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12016-021-08848-3
However, in the last 14 months, Thailand
Medical News has been liaising with various physicians and hospitals around the world and it is becoming apparent that lots of Post COVID and also Long COVID individuals are also suffering from various levels of hypokalemia and at times even periodic hypokalemia based on their blood test results.
Urgent studies are need to validate that persistent hypokalemia or even periodic hypokalemia is present in many Post-COVID and Long COVID patients.
It should also be noted that the Post COVID hypokalemia is very different from that of normal hypokalemia issues just as it was established that Post COVID hyponatremia is also unique and different from typical manifestations of hyponatremia.
https://www.clinnephrologyjournal.com/articles/jcn-aid1090.pdf
It is also important to note that hypokalemia can lead to arrythmia and already with many Post COVID individuals having various heart issues including myocarditis, pericarditis and even SARS-CoV-3 induced electrophysiological issues, the additional presence of hypokalemia can aggravate heart issues and even contribute to fatal outcomes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8989702
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6234658/
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315641
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02074-3
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00403-0
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2789793
While supplementation with Potassium supplements could help, because hypokalemia manifestations in Post COVID are unique by themselves, it is best that affected individuals be under the guidance of a proper clinical expert and be under constant monitoring including frequent blood test etc.
Meanwhile more urgent studies are need to validate our hypothesis and also most doctors and physicians should also check for possible hypokalemia in their long COVID patients.
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