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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Making, Testing, and Using Potassium Ion Selective Microelectrodes in Tissue Slices of Adult Brain

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Published on: May 7, 2018

Spurious hyperkalaemia: an insight.

Khawaja Salman Zaki¹, Uzma Majid, Najmul Islam

¹Department of Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.

JPMA. the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association

|April 7, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Spurious hyperkalaemia, or falsely elevated potassium levels, can mimic serious conditions. This case highlights its occurrence in Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia, emphasizing the need for careful diagnosis to avoid unnecessary medical interventions.

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Area of Science:

Clinical Medicine
Hematology
Laboratory Diagnostics

Background:

Hyperkalaemia is a frequent electrolyte disturbance with severe cardiac implications.
Spurious hyperkalaemia (pseudohyperkalaemia) is a common artifact leading to unnecessary healthcare utilization.
Accurate differentiation between true and spurious hyperkalaemia is crucial for patient management.

Observation:

A patient with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CMML) presented with markedly elevated serum potassium levels on two separate occasions.
Initial assessments suggested severe hyperkalaemia, prompting concern for life-threatening cardiac dysrhythmias.
Thorough investigation revealed the hyperkalaemia to be factitious, not indicative of true potassium excess.

Findings:

The elevated potassium levels in this CMML patient were ultimately attributed to a spurious laboratory result.
This underscores the importance of considering pseudohyperkalaemia in patients with hematological malignancies.
The case demonstrates how spurious findings can lead to significant clinical concern and resource utilization.

Implications:

Highlights the diagnostic challenge posed by spurious hyperkalaemia, particularly in patients with underlying conditions like CMML.
Emphasizes the need for clinicians to be vigilant for laboratory artifacts that can mimic serious medical emergencies.
Suggests that improved awareness and diagnostic protocols for pseudohyperkalaemia can reduce avoidable emergency department visits and hospital admissions.