Brad Karon, M.D., Ph.D., Discusses Causes and Prevention of Pseudohyperkalemia

By Kelley Luedke • February 6, 2019

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Brad Karon, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Director of Laboratory Services for the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, authored an article on causes and prevention of pseudohyperkalemia in MedicalLab Management. 

Pseudohyperkalemia is a long-recognized phenomenon wherein serum potassium levels are found to be elevated compared to correlated plasma potassium levels in the same patient. According to Dr. Karon, "True hyperkalemia is associated with conditions such as renal failure or large-scale tissue trauma and can be life threatening. As such, mitigating pseudohyperkalemia is essential, especially for facilities that utilize multiple draw sites and multi-step transportation processes."

In the article, Dr. Karon discusses the background of the phenomenon, falsely elevated potassium, and causes of inaccurate measurement, which include:

• Fist pumping
• Seasonal hyperkalemia
• Impact of on-site centrifuging

Read the full article here. To learn more about pseudohyperkalemia, view Dr. Karon's Hot Topic, "Top Gun Phlebotomy: Pseudohyperkalemia."

Kelley Luedke

Kelley Luedke is a Marketing Channel Manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She is the principle editor and writer of Insights and leads social media and direct marketing strategy. Kelley has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2013. Outside of work, you can find Kelley running, traveling, playing with her kitty, and exploring new foods.