July - September 2007, Volume 3, Issue 3

Sengul E, Selek A, Erbag G, Erdogan A, Yilmaz A

Thyrotoxic, hypokalemic periodic paralysis in a Turkish man: a case report

Acta Endo (Buc) 2007, 3 (3): 345-349
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2007.345

Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a disorder leading to hypokalemia and muscle weakness. It mainly affects the Asian population, and it is rare in the Balkan and Caucasian people. We describe a case of a 34 year-old male presenting with TPP. To our knowledge, this case is the third Turkish patient diagnosed as TPP in the English medical literature. He was admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) with generalized weakness. Initial laboratory analysis showed that serum potassium was 1.6 mmol/L. His serum potassium was normalized after intravenous administration of potassium chloride (KCl) of 80 mmol over 4 h and 40 mg of propranolol administered orally, and then his generalized weakness was recovered. Thyrotoxicosis was treated with propylthiouracil and propranolol.

Keywords: Thyrotoxicosis, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, propranolol

Correspondence: Erkan Sengul, M.D. Division of Nephrology, University of Kocaeli, 41380 Umuttepe yerleskesi/Kocaeli/Turkey, Phone: +90 262 303 85 68, Fax: +90 262 303 80 03 E-mail: dr.erkansengul@hotmail.com