Complications of "slow-K" therapy.

(1) The failure of ;Slow-K' tablets to disintegrate prevents rapid release but allows them to be trapped by their bulk in the intestine.(2) Two cases are reported. In the first the tablet was trapped in a caecal diverticulum and the patient developed an abcess. In the second, abdominal pain developed which subsided when ;Slow-K' was stopped. Later ;Slow-K' was again started and the patient developed dysphagia.(3) The possibility of abdominal complications with this treatment should be remembered.(4) Effervescent KC1 preparations may replace ;Slow-K' but KC1 supplementation may be necessary only in cardiac disease.