What can he do to help his kidneys return his potassium levels to normal?
Hiro is a 46-year-old male who has recently acquired severe food poisoning, which caused 72 hours of frequent vomiting and diarrhea. The third day after his symptoms began, Hiro experienced heart palpitations and confusion. He had trouble answering simple questions and felt disoriented. His care team was concerned about these new symptoms and decided to perform a urinalysis and several blood tests to determine the cause. These are Hiro’s results:
Blood Calcium Level: 4.6 mEq/L
Blood Sodium Level: 140 mEq/L
Blood Potassium Level: 2.9 mEq/L
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.020
What can he do to help his kidneys return his potassium levels to normal?