Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) attacks are characterized as recurrent, transient episodes of muscle weakness that range from mild weakness to complete flaccid paralysis. Episodes of weakness are accompanied by hypokalemia, which left untreated can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias (6). In this case study, we followed a patient’s potassium levels analyzing how they correlate with electrocardiogram changes seen while treating his hypokalemia and ultimately his paralysis. [West J Emerg Med. 2012;13(6):512-513]