ArticlePloS one2024
Association of serum potassium levels with mortality in critically ill patients with sepsis during hospitalization.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dynamic trajectories of serum sodium and urine output and their association with prognosis in sepsis: a group-based multi-trajectory modelling analysis using MIMIC-IV.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Construction of an associative model for prolonged intensive care unit stay in sepsis patients combined with myocardial injury.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Article
- Optimal Dynamic Treatment Regimes for High-Dimensional Accelerated Failure Time Model.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Association between serum potassium and 28-day mortality in elderly patients with sepsis: a multicenter cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Associations of serum glucose/potassium ratio with short-term and long-term mortality in sepsis patients: a retrospective cohort study based on the MIMIC-IV database.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Linear association between serum potassium levels and 28-day mortality among ICU patients with diabetes and sepsis: a multicenter study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Factors influencing sepsis associated thrombocytopenia (SAT): A multicenter retrospective cohort study.PloS one · 2025Observational
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundElectrolyte disturbances are prevalent complications in critically ill patients with sepsis, significantly impacting patient prognosis. However, the specific association between serum potassium levels and mortality risk in this population remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the association between serum potassium levels during hospitalization and the risk of 28-day and 90-day mortality in critically ill patients with sepsis.
methodsData were obtained from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database, and patients with severe sepsis requiring ICU admission were stratified into quartiles based on their mean serum potassium levels. Outcomes assessed included 28-day and 90-day mortality. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the association between serum potassium levels and mortality, with restricted cubic splines to identify potential nonlinear correlations. A dichotomous Cox proportional hazards model was applied to analyze the association further, and Kaplan-Meier analysis assessed the mortality risk across different potassium ranges.
resultsA total of 25,203 patients were included, with 28-day and 90-day mortality rates of 27.84% and 40.48%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association between serum potassium levels and mortality. Restricted cubic splines identified an inflection point at 4.4 mmol/L, with potassium levels above this threshold associated with higher mortality (28-day mortality: HR 2.96, 95% CI = 2.43-3.60; 90-day mortality: HR 2.19, 95% CI = 1.81-2.64). Kaplan-Meier analysis confirmed a significantly higher risk of death for patients with serum potassium levels above 4.4 mmol/L compared to those within the 3.5-4.4 mmol/L range (P<0.001).
conclusionIn critically ill patients with sepsis, serum potassium levels exceeding 4.4 mmol/L are associated with an increased risk of death. Maintaining the average serum potassium level within the range of 3.5-4.4 mmol/L appears to be safe and may contribute to better outcomes in this patient population.
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