Consensus document on the management of hyperkalaemia

Hyperkalaemia is a common electrolyte imbalance with potentially serious short-, medium -and long-term consequences on morbidity and mortality rates and the use of national health service resources. The fact that different medical specialities can manage hyper-kalaemia makes it important to have a unified approach, and the recent availability of new specific drug treatments means that the approach needs to be updated. This con-sensus document from the scientific societies most directly involved in the management of hyperkalaemia (Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia [Spanish Society of Cardiology], Sociedad Espanola de Endocrinologia y Nutricion [Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition], Sociedad Espanola de Medicina Interna [Spanish Society of Internal Medicine], Sociedad Espanola de Medicina de Urgencias y Emergencias [Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine and Emergencies] and Sociedad Espanola de Nefrologia [Spanish Society of Nephrology]) first of all reviews basic aspects of potassium balance and blood potassium. Then it goes on to focus on the concept, epidemiology, pathophysiology and diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to hyperkalaemia. The available evidence and the main published studies have been reviewed with the aim of providing a useful tool in the multidisciplinary approach to patients with hyperkalaemia.(c) 2023 Sociedad Espanola de Nefrologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/).