A case report and review of hypokalemic paralysis secondary to renal tubular acidosis

A 5-year-old girl with distal renal tubular acidosis (RTA) and hypokalemic muscle paralysis is reported. RTA is a known cause of hypokalemia, but in spite of the presence of persistent hypokalemia muscular paralysis is uncommon, rarely described in children, and the onset of paralysis may initially be misinterpreted particularly if the patient is attended by a physician who is not a pediatric nephrologist. Therefore parents must be informed about this possibility. Still, as the clinical appearance of hypokalemic paralysis is quite similar to familial hypokalemic periodic paralysis, and because the emergent and prophylactic treatment of the two disorders are quite different, we discuss the diagnostic evaluation and the treatment for both of them.