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R. L. Westerman, MD
Zionsville, Ind

JAMA. 1971;217(8):1106-1107.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Oh et al (216:1858, 1971), have again called attention to vacuolar myopathy as one of the rare but dramatic and potentially fatal complications of potassium deficiency. The liberty I have taken in substituting the words "potassium deficiency" for "hypokalemia" is intentional. There are distinct differences between the two. Where possible, a differentiation should be made.

Oh et al leave us with the impression that chlorthalidone was the primary cause of the patient's problem. However, they are careful to point out that she was a frequent laxative user and that laxative abuse is one of the well-known causes of hypokalemia. The striking thing about this case is the appearance of symptoms within seven weeks of instituting a (modest) diuretic program. In my experience, seven weeks is much too early for diuretics alone to produce such a severe example of potassium deficiency. In metabolic balance studies we found . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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