Hypokalaemia is one of the most commonly encountered fluid and electrolyte abnormalities in clinical medicine. Traditionally defined by a serum potassium level < 3.5 mmol/L, the occurrence of hypokalaemia is rather heterogeneous throughout epidemiological studies, ranging from 3.5% to 23%. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology of hypokalaemia (<3.5 mmol/L) and severe hypokalaemia (<2.8 mmol/L) in both hospitalized patients and a general population of outpatients in a large academic hospital. Results of serum potassium measurements performed between November 2007 and November 2008 on the entire cohort of outpatients and hospitalized patients in our hospital, a 750-bed facility with an emergency department (ED) and several specialized care units, were retrieved from the database of our Laboratory Information System. When repeated values were available for the same patient, only those recorded on hospital admission were considered in this study. Potassium concentration was analysed by indirect ion-selective electrode (ISE) on the Roche Modular ISE 900 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). The total coefficient of variation is <0.9%.
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