Occurrence and contributing factors associated with hyperkalaemia in East Africa: a systematic review

Hyperkalaemia is potentially a life-threatening medical condition characterized by higher-than-normal potassium in the blood. It can result in cardiac arrhythmias which is a serious heart problem and subsequently can lead to a sudden death. Impaired kidney function, such as chronic kidney disease or acute kidney injury, can hinder the proper excretion of potassium, leading to its accumulation in the blood. The prevalence of hyperkalemia in the United States is reported to be 1.55% for the normal population and 6.35% for kidney disease patients. Hyperkalaemia can be too problematic for people with kidney diseases. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease ranges between 2% and 7% in Uganda. The majority of the CKD patients in Uganda are presented late with advanced symptoms such as hyperkalemia. However, a study done by Dorsthorst has found out that it’s not only renal-impaired patients who are at the risk of becoming hyperkalemic after deviant consumption of potassium-rich foods, but the healthy humans with normally functioning kidneys are as well at risk. The study also alludes that the severity of hyperkalemia in patients with kidney disease or with normal kidney functionality does not differ. This review work was aimed at finding out the different reported cases of hyperkalemia in the Eastern region of Africa as well as their contributing factors. Articles used in this review were obtained from the internet using two search engines: Scopus and PubMed. Articles written in languages other than English and those which were review papers were excluded. The articles were screened and data were extracted. The results showed that hyperkalemia is caused by factors such as an overdose of potassium pills, chronic kidney disease, drug-to-drug interactions, and renal failure among other factors. Cases of hyperkalemia were reported in Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Hyperkalaemia can be managed by responding to its specific cause. The overall prevalence of hyperkalemia has been reported to be approximately 1.1% in the general population (people with normal kidney function). From this review, it can be concluded that hyperkalemia occurs at high rates in people suffering from kidney disease. However, drug-drug interactions, increased intake of potassium, and tumor lysis are other causes.