Serum potassium changes due to concomitant ACEI/ARB and spironolactone therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Discontinuation of Antihypertensive Drug Use Compared to Continuation in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 related mortality is about 2%, and it increases with comorbidities, like hypertension. Regarding management, there is debatable evidence about the benefits of continuation vs. discontinuation of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB).

AIM

We performed a systematic review to assess the effects and safety of in-hospital discontinuation compared to continuation of ACEI/ARB in COVID-19 patients.

METHODS

We systematically searched on PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE from inception to June 19, 2021. We included observational studies and trials that compared the effects and safety of continuing ACEI/ARB compared to discontinuing it in COVID-19 patients. Effects sizes for dichotomous variables were expressed as risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals. For continuous variables, effects were expressed as mean difference (MD). We used random effect models with the inverse variance method. We assessed certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

We included three open-label randomized controlled trials and five cohort studies. We found that the continuation group had lower risk of death compared with the discontinuation group only in the cohort group (RR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.90), but not in the RCT group (RR: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.75-2.00). The ICU admission rate was significantly lower in the continuation group (RR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.31-0.68) in the cohort group, but not in RCT group (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.67-1.59). We did not find significant differences between groups regarding hospitalization length, hypotension, AKI needing renal replacement therapy, mechanical ventilation, new or worsening heart failure, myocarditis, renal replacement therapy, arrhythmias, thromboembolic events and SOFA AUC. The GRADE approach revealed that the certainty ranged from moderate to high level.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no significant difference in mortality and other outcomes between continuation and discontinuation groups.

Serum potassium in elderly heart failure patients as a predictor of readmission within 1 year

Blood potassium levels are associated with adverse outcomes in patients with congestive heart failure (HF). However, it is unclear whether there are differences in outcome events in elderly patients with different blood potassium levels at the time of emergency readmission within 1 year. This study used data from patients hospitalized with HF, integrating electronic medical records from the PhysioNet restricted health data database and external outcome data. We conducted a retrospective study of HF patients aged 60 years and older, using baseline data, comorbidities, laboratory tests, and medication use as covariates to analyze the effect of serum potassium levels on outcome events, with the primary outcome being readmission within 1 year. A priori was used to calculate the sample size, and this retrospective cohort study included a total of 788 elderly HF patients, of whom 20.3% had hypokalaemia (K⁺  < 3.5 mmol/L) and 14.7% had hyperkalemia (K⁺  > 4.7 mmol/L). According to a multivariate Cox regression model, patients with hyperkalemia had a shorter time interval between readmissions within 1 year, with a hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% CI of 1.134 (1.006-1.279). Three models were used to analyze patients with different blood potassium levels and, after correction, the high potassium group was at high risk relative to the low and normal groups, with significant differences in outcome events, with HRs and their 95% CI of 1.266 (1.03-1.557), 1.245 (1.01-1.534), and 1.439 (1.142-1.812), respectively. The robustness of the model was also demonstrated by competing risk models with subgroup analysis, showing that blood potassium levels had a stable effect on outcome events and were not altered by covariates (age, sex, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, NT-proBNP, high-sensitivity troponin, and glomerular filtration rate). The results show that high blood potassium levels are associated with the outcome event of readmission within 1 year in elderly patients with HF. Blood potassium levels at the time of the first hospitalization may therefore be a valuable predictor.

Hyperkalemia in Diabetes Mellitus Setting

Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem that affects 9.3% of the worldwide population and is associated with a series of comorbidities such as heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diabetic patients, especially those with associated CKD, are more susceptible to present potassium disorders, in particular hyperkalemia due to kidney disease progression or use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockers. Hyperkalemia is a potentially life-threatening condition that increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmia episodes and sudden death, making the management of potassium levels a challenge to reduce the mortality rate in this population. This review aims to briefly present the potassium physiology and discuss the main conditions that lead to hyperkalemia in diabetic individuals, the main signs, symptoms, and exams for the diagnosis of hyperkalemia, and the steps that should be followed to manage patients with this potentially life-threatening condition.