Low potassium levels? Cause of confusion/delirium

[Suze99]

Hi all
My 90 year old mother is currently in hospital. Admitted on 3rd November after concern in her care home about a leg wound. Subsequently hospital found potassium levels low so treating for this. They strongly suspect furosemide her water tablet is the cause. Also treated for suspected UTI. Has delirium.

I'm very concerned about her being in hospital at the moment feel she could potentially be treated with potassium supplement in care home. Yesterday they rang to say she's had a fall. Fortunately no damage except to her leg which had been healing well.


Until mid June was living alone with a carer twice a day to prepare meals, clean and do bed and washing. Prior to covid had a cleaner, hairdresser, friends and cousin popping in. Always an anxious person but managing well despite her poor mobility.

Fast forward to mid June UTI lead to fall lead to hospital admission of a month to care home. We managed to move her near to us start of September. Settling in ok until this incident. However confused at times and low mood. Increasingly anxious.

Could low potassium levels be the cause of this decline with confusion and delirium? No diagnosis of dementia. Always quite sharp for her age prior to

 

[canary]

Hi @Suze99 and welcome to DTP.

I'm seeking to understand how my mother has declined so sharply?

Its difficult to say at the moment. Low potassium can certainly cause confusion, so the first thing the doctors will be doing is getting that sorted. If the confusion persists then it may be that she had some very early dementia that wasnt really noticeable and the UTI and delirium have progressed it. UTIs do horrible things to people with dementia and if you have dementia you are more likely to get delirium.

Fingers crossed that the potassium supplements do the trick.

 

[Palerider]

Hello @Suze99

low potssium is not connected with delerium, it is affected by furosemide, so they need to find th cause of the delerium -if it is delerium. Here's a link that explains delerium and consideration of other causes:

Delirium - Neurologic Disorders - MSD Manual Professional Edition

Delirium - Etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, diagnosis & prognosis from the MSD Manuals - Medical Professional Version.

www.msdmanuals.com