Manual ventilation therapy and aggressive potassium supplementation in the management of respiratory failure secondary to severe hypokalaemia in a cat with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

A domestic shorthair cat was referred for progressive muscle weakness and dyspnoea. The cat had a 2-month history of severe weight loss, small intestinal diarrhoea, polyphagia and polyuria/polydipsia. Biochemical analysis and venous blood gas evaluation revealed severe hypokalaemia [1.7 mmol/l; reference interval (RI): 3.5-5.1 mmol/l] and hypoventilation (partial pressure of carbon dioxide = 68 mmHg; RI: 34-38 mmHg). Aggressive potassium supplementation was initiated. The cat was manually ventilated until serum potassium increased to 3 mmol/l. A diagnosis of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) was made based on clinical signs and serum feline trypsin-like immunoreactivity (0.1 μg/l; RI: 12-82 μg/l). Medical management of the EPI resulted in clinical recovery.