From the Research
Comparison of Potassium Acetate and Potassium Phosphate
- Potassium acetate and potassium phosphate are two different salts used to treat hypokalaemia, a condition characterized by low potassium levels in the blood 1.
- The choice between potassium acetate and potassium phosphate depends on the presence of associated metabolic disorders, such as hypochloraemic alkalosis, non-anion gap acidosis, or hypophosphataemia 1.
- Potassium acetate is often used to treat non-anion gap acidosis, while potassium phosphate is used to treat hypophosphataemia 1.
- The infusion rates of intravenous therapy differ between potassium acetate and potassium phosphate, with potassium acetate typically infused at a rate of up to 5 mmol/h and potassium phosphate infused at a rate of up to 2 mmol/h 1.
- In a case report, a patient developed non-anion gap metabolic acidosis after being switched from potassium acetate to potassium chloride and phosphate salts due to a shortage of acetate salts 2.
- A study comparing calcium acetate and calcium carbonate as phosphate-binding agents found that calcium acetate was more effective in reducing serum phosphate levels and had a beneficial effect on secondary hyperparathyroidism, but had poorer patient tolerability 3.
- Another study evaluated the dissolution characteristics of potassium chloride release from pellet and matrix tablet-based formulations in different dissolution media, including acetate buffer and phosphate buffer, and found similar results in all three media 4.
- A retrospective chart review of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis found that 64.6% of patients received 40 mEq/L potassium IV fluids, with 7 patients receiving half potassium acetate plus half potassium phosphate 5.