Baseline characteristics of enrolled children in IVPR and EPR arms
| Intention to treat (ITT) | Actual treatment received(AT) | |||||
| Intravenous K (n=18) | Oral K (n=23) | p-value | Intravenous K (n=23) | Oral K (n=18) | p-value | |
| Age at randomisation (count, %) | ||||||
| <1 year | 5 (27.8%) | 4 (17.4%) | 0.54 | 6 (26.1%) | 3 (16.7%) | 0.61 |
| 1–5 years | 5 (27.8%) | 10 (43.5%) | 7 (30.4%) | 8 (44.4%) | ||
| 5–15 years | 8 (44.4%) | 9 (39.1%) | 10 (43.5%) | 7 (38.9%) | ||
| Mean age (years)* | 4.8±4.0 | 4.6±4.0 | 0.91 | 4.8±4.2 | 4.6±3.8 | 0.87 |
| Indicators at beginning of episode | ||||||
| Potassium level (count, %)† | ||||||
| Mild | 33 (71.7%) | 31 (63.3%) | 0.47 | 41 (74.5%) | 23 (57.5%) | 0.14 |
| Moderate | 13 (28.3%) | 17 (34.7%) | 14 (25.5%) | 16 (40.0%) | ||
| Severe | – | 1 (2.0%) | – | 1 (2.5%) | ||
| Mean potassium* | 3.7±0.5 (3.5 to 3.8) | 3.6±0.5 (3.5 to 3.8) | 0.71 | 3.7±0.5 (3.6 to 3.8) | 3.6±0.5 (3.4 to 3.7) | 0.23 |
| Average urine output (ml/kg/hour)* | 3.9±2.1 (3.4–4.6) | 4.3±2.5 (3.6–5.0) | 0.44 | 4.1±2.2 (3.5–4.7) | 4.2±2.5 (3.4–5.0) | 0.81 |
| Diuretic average dose (mg/kg)*‡ | 0.4±0.5 (0.3–0.6) | 0.4±0.6 (0.2–0.5) | 0.57 | 0.5±0.6 (0.3–0.6) | 0.3±0.4 (0.2–0.4) | 0.15 |
| Inotrope score* | 8.5±9.1 (5.5–10.7) | 4.6±4.1 (3.4–5.8) | 0.01 | 8.4±8.8 (5.6–10.5) | 4.1±3.3 (3.0–5.1) | 0.004 |
| Total episodes | 48 | 49 | 57 | 40 | ||
*Values reported as mean±SD (95% CI)
†Severity of hypokalaemia defined as potassium level of mild: 3.5–4.4 mEq/L, moderate: 2.5–3.4 mEq/L, severe: 2.1–2.4 mEq/L
‡Diuretics were given either at bolus every 6 hours or as a continuous infusion. Average dose was calculated as total diuretic (mg) received in 6 hours/ weight (kg) of the patient/6 to get mg/kg/hour.
EPR, enteral potassium replacement; IVPR, intravenous potassium replacement.