Hypokalemia in acute myelogenous leukemia

Forty-two patients with acute myelogenous leukemia or one of its variants were studied at diagnosis to determine the incidence and cause(s) of hypokalemia. Forty-three percent of patients were hypokalemic, and an inappropriate renal loss of potassium was noted. This potassium wastage could not be explained by antibiotic-induced renal tubular dysfunction, lysozymuria, or alterations in renin-aldosterone secretion.