Knowing Medications That Cause Hyperkalemia

Todd Brothers, PharmD, BCCCP, BCPS, clinical assistant professor, University of Rhode Island, discusses what patients should know about medications that cause hyperkalemia. This video was filmed at the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) 54th Clinical Meeting & Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Todd Brothers, PharmD, BCCCP, BCPS: I think it’s very important…I always try to empower patients as much as possible to understand their medications because they’re the best regulators of their health. In short, any time they have a new medication added to the regimen, particularly in a CKD population, that could kind of set the pendulum off tilt, if you will and is predisposed into hyperkalemia, particularly in the RAAS inhibitors- direct renin antagonists and mineralocorticoid antagonists. Those 3 classes we know are commonly correlated with hyperkalemia, and therefore those drugs in particular patients require quite a bit of education to ensure their safety.