The Association of Hypokalemia with Meropenem Administration: A Case Report and Literature Review

We report the case of a 72-year-old woman who was admitted following a fall and sustained a right neck of femur fracture. Prior to this admission, she was undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. Upon this admission, it was noted that she had developed neutropenic sepsis. She was initially treated with teicoplanin and ciprofloxacin. However, her neutrophil count dropped further, and she continued to have a high temperature, hence her treatment was switched to meropenem. Administration of meropenem was associated with persistent and difficult-to-correct hypokalemia. The hypokalemia resolved, and potassium levels returned to normal a few days after completing the course of meropenem therapy. To our knowledge, there is a very rare association between hypokalemia and the administration of meropenem. Therefore, clinicians need to be aware of this, especially in cases of refractory hypokalemia.