Introduction: In case of hospitalized patients the number of diseases is often more than one; therefore the administered pharmacotherapy is complex and a multi-drug one. Hyperkalemia in these cases can be a part either of the disease or can be caused by the used medicines. Material and method: During this study we have analysed 3000 case record forms and evaluated them after exclusion 302. The most important inclusion criteria was the presence of hyperkalemia: over 5 mmol/l. Based on the study protocol we have analysed if the hyperkalemia is a part of the disease or it is caused by the medicines used. Results: Based on current guides we observed that hyperkalemia is a component of the disease in 67.88% of the cases. But in the others it was the result of pharmacological interactions: most frequently ACEIs and spironolactone, a beta-blocker and a potassium-sparing diuretic. Discussion: Our result show that associated drug therapy can cause adverse drug reactions which on their term lead to more drug use. We suppose that a pharmacological evaluation of the prescriptions could improve the quality of the treatment.
Keywords: hyperkalemia, pharmacotherapy, adverse reaction