Tianjin Medical Journal ›› 2025, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (9): 937-941.doi: 10.11958/20252000

• Clinical Research • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis of risk factors for hypokalemia caused by piperacillin/tazobactam

ZHOU Lijun1,2(), ZENG Wenjing1,3, HU Qin1,3,()   

  1. 1 Department of Pharmacy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008 China
    2 Department of Pharmacy, Hainan Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital
    3 National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University
  • Received:2025-05-16 Revised:2025-07-21 Published:2025-09-15 Online:2025-09-16
  • Contact: E-mail: huqin2016@csu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective To analyze risk factors of hypokalemia after treatment with piperacillin-tazobactam (PTZ) and to provide a reference for safe clinical medication. Methods A retrospective collection of 1 355 inpatients treated with PTZ was conducted. Patients were assigned to the hypokalemia group (serum potassium < 3.5 mmol/L, 374 cases) and the non-hypokalemia group (serum potassium ≥ 3.5 mmol/L, 981 cases) based on whether they suffered from hypokalemia after PTZ treatment. Clinical data were collected and compared in both groups of patients. Multifactorial Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors of hypokalemia induced by PTZ. Results In the hypokalemia group, there were 308 cases of mild hypokalemia (82.3%), 63 cases of moderate hypokalemia and 3 cases of severe hypokalemia. The incidence of moderate to severe hypokalemia was 4.9%, with the lowest serum potassium concentration recorded at 2.1 mmol/L. The proportion of females, treatment duration, cumulative dosage, age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index ( aCCI ),the percentage of patients with platelets (PLT) <100×109/L and the proportion of patients using glucocorticoids were all higher in the hypokalemia group than those of the non-hypokalemia group (P<0.05). Conversely, baseline serum potassium levels and red blood cell (RBC) were lower in the hypokalemia group than those of the non-hypokalemia group (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that female, increased cumulative dosage, elevated aCCI and lower baseline serum potassium concentration were risk factors for PTZ induced hypokalemia (P<0.05). Conclusion Female, lower basline serum potassium level, long-term high-dose use of PTZ and high comorbidity index are risk factors for the occurrence of PTZ-induced hypokalemia. The changes in serum potassium during the medication period of this type of patients should be closely monitored to ensure the safety of drug use for patients.

Key words: hypokalemia, piperacillin, tazobactam drug combination, drug-related side effects and adverse reactions, risk factors, femininity, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index

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