✔️ Calcium directly antagonizes the membrane actions of hyperkalemia , while hypocalcemia increases the cardiotoxicity of hyperkalemia
✔️The effect of intravenous calcium administration begins within minutes but is relatively short lived (30 to 60 minutes). As a result, calcium should not be administered as monotherapy for hyperkalemia but should rather be combined with therapies that drive extracellular potassium into cells.
✔️Administration of calcium can be repeated every 30 to 60 minutes if the hyperkalemic emergency persists and the serum calcium does not become elevated.
✔️Calcium can be given as either calcium gluconate or calcium chloride. Calcium chloride contains three times the concentration of elemental calcium compared with calcium gluconate . However, calcium gluconate is generally preferred because calcium chloride may cause local irritation at the injection site .
✔️✔️The usual dose of calcium gluconate is 1000 mg (10 mL of a 10 percent solution) infused over two to three minutes, with constant cardiac monitoring.