SynthesisBMJ open2023
Admission plasma potassium and length of hospital stay: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Construction of an associative model for prolonged intensive care unit stay in sepsis patients combined with myocardial injury.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Article
- Thyrotoxic Periodic Paralysis Following a 75-g Oral Glucose Load Revealing Previously Undiagnosed Graves' Disease: A Case Report.Clinical medicine insights. Case reports · 2026Article
- Hospitalisation and critical care for pneumonia among children aged 5-9 years in Bangladesh: a 10-year retrospective analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Risk Factors and Prediction Model for Hypokalemia as a Complication in Older Adults with Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage.Clinical interventions in aging · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveHypokalaemia and hyperkalaemia ('dyskalaemia') are commonly seen in patients requiring emergency hospital admission. The adverse effect of dyskalaemia on mortality is well described but there are few data for the effect on hospital length of stay. We sought to determine the association of serum potassium concentration with in-hospital length of stay.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: A structured search of MEDLINE, PubMed and SCOPUS databases to 19 March 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Observational cohort studies defining exposure of interest as serum potassium levels (at admission or within the first 72 hours) and with outcome of interest as length of hospital stay. Studies had to provide estimates of length of stay as a comparison between normokalaemia and defined ranges of hyperkalaemia or hypokalaemia. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We identified 39 articles published to March 2021 that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment were carried out by two reviewers working independently and in duplicate, to assessed eligibility and risk of bias, and extract data from eligible studies. Random effects models were used to pool estimates across the included studies. Meta-analyses were performed using Cochrane-RevMan.
resultsFive studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with the reference group (3.5-5.0 mmol/L), the pooled raw differences of medians were 4.45 (95% CI 2.71 to 6.91), 1.99 (95% CI 0.03 to 3.94), 0.98 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.05), 1.51 (95% CI 1.03 to 2.0), 1 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.25) and 2.76 (95% CI 1.24 to 4.29) for patients with potassium levels of <2.5, 2.5 to <3.0, 3.0 to <3.5, <5 to 5.5, <5.5 to 6 and >6.0 mmol/L, respectively.
conclusionHospital length of stay follows a U-shaped distribution, with duration of admission being twofold greater at the extremes of the potassium range.
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