A note on the serum potassium level among thai hospitalised patients with falciparum malaria.

Potassium is an important metal and is the seventh most abundant and makes up about 2.4% by weight of the earth’s crust. Potassium is an essential constituent for plant growth and is found in most soils. It is an element that is essential for the body’s growth and maintenance. It is necessary to keep a normal water balance between the cells and body fluids. Potassium also plays an essential role in the response of nerves to stimulation and in the contraction of muscles. Cellular enzymes need potassium to work properly. Potassium is the major positive ion within cells and is particularly important for maintaining the electric charge on the cell membrane, which is necessary for neuromuscular communication and for transporting nutrients into cells and waste products out of the cell. The concentration of potassium inside cells is about 30 times that in the blood and other extracellular fluids. Small changes in the potassium concentration outside cells can have substantial effects on the activity of nerves and muscles. Therefore, measurement of serum potassium is one of the important tests in laboratory medicine. Low levels of potassium cause increased activity, whereas high levels cause decreased activity. Episodic muscular weakness, commonly associated with alterations of serum potassium, is the cardinal feature of periodic paralysis.