Cardiac Arrest: A Late Complication of Glucose-Insulin-Potassium (GIK) Therapy
ABSTRACT
Rebound hyperkalaemia 4 hours after discontinuation of a glucose-insulin-potassium infusion inhibited an already compromised conduction system leading to ventricular standstill in a 41 year old man after re-do aortic valve surgery. Resuscitation was successful and allowed him to return from Australia to his home on Christmas Island.
Glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) infusions to reduce myocardial hypo- / re-perfusion injury after myocardial infarction, during coronary artery surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass are becoming more popular. There may also be a role for GIK in the treatment of refractory dysrhythmias and for myocardial protection in the brain-dead patient. However, these infusions are not without hazard and this report of rebound hyperkalaemia and cardiac arrest is unlikely to remain isolated. (Critical Care and Resuscitation 2001; 3: 101-104)
Key words:
Glucose-insulin-potassium, GIK, cardiac arrest, rebound hyperkalaemia, complications
