Abstract
Abstract
One of the causes of early onset hyperkalaemia in very low birth weight infants is presumed to be the dysfunction of K+ transport across the cell membrane. Sodiumpotassium adenosine triphosphatase(Na+−K+ ATPase) is known to play a major role in K+ transport. We compared the concentrations of erythrocyte Na+−K+ ATPase (Vmax levels) for hyperkalaemic and normokalaemic infants of matched gestational age. In hyperkalaemic infants, the highest levels of Vmax were reached at 24–48 h after birth, but in normokalaemic infants, there were no significant changes in Vmax levels during the 1st week after birth. At 12–72 h after birth, erythrocyte K+ concentrations for hyperkalaemic infants were higher than those of normokalaemic infants. For both groups of infants, the highest levels of plasma K+ during the 1st week after birth showed a positive correlation with those of Vmax.
Conclusion
Na+−K+ ATPase on the cell membrane is activated to compensate for hyperkalaemia; however, when this compensation is incomplete, hyperkalaemia occurs.
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Abbreviations
- BUN :
-
blood urea nitrogen
- ICH :
-
intracranial haemorrhage
- IC−K + :
-
erythrocyte potassium concentration
- IC−Na + :
-
erythrocyte sodium concentration
- Na +−K + :
-
ATPase sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase
- P−K + :
-
plasma potassium concentration
- P−Na + :
-
plasma sodium concentration
- RDS :
-
respiratory distress syndrome
- VLBWI :
-
very low birth weight infants
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Matsuo, Y., Hasegawa, K., Doi, Y. et al. Erythrocyte sodium-potassium transport in hyperkalaemic and normokalaemic infants. Eur J Pediatr 154, 571–576 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02074837
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02074837