If a patient on a potassium-wasting diuretic has a low potassium level, what would you do?

• A. Call MD, hold Lasix, give potassium supplement
• B. Do nothing
• C. Increase Lasix
• D. Switch to ACE inhibitor

Answer: (A)

Potassium-wasting diuretics push potassium out of the body, so a low potassium level means you need to stop the ongoing potassium loss and replace potassium. The best move is to contact the physician for orders, hold the diuretic to prevent further potassium loss, and start potassium supplementation as directed. This protects the patient from dangerous hypokalemia and potential arrhythmias while the clinician decides the next steps.

Doing nothing would let the deficiency persist, increasing risk of complications. Increasing the diuretic would worsen potassium loss. Switching to an ACE inhibitor wouldn’t address the current low potassium and could create other electrolyte issues.