Hyperkalemia mimicking brugada pattern in electrocardiogram: A rare case report from Nepal.

Hyperkalemia is one of the dangerous complications of renal impairment (acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease). Hyperkalemia may present with the electrocardiogram (ECG) changes as nonspecific repolarization abnormalities. Here, we report a case of AKI with hyperkalemia and the Brugada pattern of ECG, which reverted to normal after effective management of hyperkalemia. A 55-year-old male reported to the Emergency Department of National Academy of Medical Sciences (Bir Hospital) with injuries in his lower limbs and spine after he had met an accident two days back. He also had decreased urine output for the last one day. On physical examination, he had injuries in the spine and lower limbs. His laboratory investigations showed impaired renal function parameters with serum sodium 130 mEq/L and serum potassium of 7.3 mEq/L. His ECG was consistent with Brugada pattern. Patient was treated with 10% calcium gluconate, insulin and dextrose, salbutamol nebulization, and sodium polystyrene sulfonate till hemodialysis was initiated. Hyperkalemia and acidosis can manifest with the Brugada pattern in ECG. Thus, a careful evaluation of hyperkalemia and its treatment must be instituted in such an ECG pattern.

Cystatin-C as a Marker for Renal Impairment in Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a devastating pregnancy-associated disorder characterized by the onset of hypertension, proteinuria, and edema with limited plausible pathophysiology known. Cystatin-C, a novel marker for the detection of renal impairment, is increased in preeclampsia at an early stage. This study was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of Cystatin-C as an early marker of renal function in preeclampsia comparing it to the traditional renal markers. A hospital based comparative cross-sectional study was performed on 104 women (52 diagnosed cases of preeclampsia and 52 healthy pregnant women). Concentrations of Cystatin-C, creatinine, urea, and uric acid were measured in both the study groups. Mean serum Cystatin-C and uric acid levels were elevated in preeclampsia cases compared to controls (1.15 ± 0.37 versus 0.55 ± 0.12; 5.40 ± 1.44 versus 3.97 ± 0.68, resp.). ROC curve depicted that Cystatin-C had the highest diagnostic efficiency (sensitivity, 88.24%; specificity, 98.04%) compared to creatinine and uric acid. Serum Cystatin-C consequently seemed to closely reflect the renal functional changes, which are believed to lead to increased blood pressure levels and urinary excretion of albumin and may thus function as a marker for the stage of the transition between normal adaptive renal changes at term and preeclampsia.