“Blood work?”
I just had blood work done and it showed potassium level was 5.4. When the girl drew my blood after taking it she accidentally dropped one vial on the floor. (It did not break). Could this have caused the level to be off? My doctor said repeat in 6 months but kind of scared me.
Female | 75 years old
3 Answers
Dr. Eric Scofield
Hematologist-Oncologist
There are many reasons why potassium could be elevated. I believe you are concerned about hemolysis occurring when the lab tech dropped the vial. Hemolysis can cause potassium to elevate. You should have a repeat blood drawn to check for normalization of your potassium.
When blood cells rupture they can release potassium. That may have occurred when the vial was dropped. If the other lab results were normal. I agree with repeating the potassium in six months.
There is a lot of potassium inside red cells. If a lot of them broke w/the fall, perhaps some K+ leaked out into the serum & raised the potassium reading. If you have kidney problems, it could be more significant.
