Potassium chloride killed by injection. Why do hospitals sometimes use potassium chloride injection? Just out of curiosity, hehe

Regardless of dosage, talking about toxicity is a hooligan. What is potassium chloride?

Potassium chloride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KCl. It is a colorless, slender rhombic or cubic crystal, or a white crystal powder with small particles. It looks like salt, tasteless and salty. Additives commonly used in low sodium salt and mineral water. Potassium chloride is a commonly used electrolyte balance regulator in clinic, which has definite clinical effect and is widely used in clinical departments.

Why is it fatal?

Oral overdose of potassium chloride is toxic; The median lethal dose is about 2500 mg/kg (similar to the toxicity of common salt). The lethal dose of intravenous injection is about 100 mg/kg, but its serious side effects on myocardium deserve attention. Large doses can lead to cardiac arrest and sudden death. Death penalty by injection is the principle that excessive intravenous injection of potassium chloride can lead to cardiac arrest.

Main uses of potassium chloride

Mainly used in inorganic industry, it is the basic raw material for producing various potassium salts or bases such as potassium hydroxide, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, potassium chlorate and potassium dichromate. The pharmaceutical industry is used as a diuretic and a drug to prevent potassium deficiency. Dye industry is used to produce G salt, reactive dyes and so on. Agriculture is a kind of potash fertilizer. Its fertilizer efficiency is fast, and it can directly increase the moisture in the lower soil when applied to farmland, which has the effect of drought resistance, but it is not suitable for saline-alkali land and crops such as tobacco, sweet potato and beet. The taste of potassium chloride is similar to that of sodium chloride (bitter), and it is also used as an additive of low sodium salt or mineral water. In addition, it is also used to make muzzle or muzzle flame retardant, steel heat treatment agent and photography. It can also be used in medicine, scientific application and food processing. Part of potassium chloride can replace sodium chloride in table salt, reducing the possibility of hypertension.

internal medicine

Potassium chloride is a commonly used electrolyte balance regulator in clinic, which has definite clinical effect and is widely used in clinical departments. It can be used for treating and preventing hypokalemia caused by various reasons (insufficient food intake, vomiting, severe diarrhea, application of potassium-expelling diuretics or long-term application of glucocorticoid and adrenocortical stimulator, potassium-deficient nephropathy, Bart's syndrome, etc.). ), can also be used for frequent, multi-source premature beats or rapid arrhythmia caused by cardiogenic edema, renal edema, digitalis and other cardiac glycoside poisoning.

The influence of potassium chloride on the death penalty Main items: potassium chloride

Lethal dose of injection: 100 mEq (thousand-fold equivalent) potassium is an electrolyte, 98% of which exists in cells, and 2% of which can cause cell potential activity outside cells. Can be taken orally-this is the safest way; It can also be injected into the human body by intravenous injection, but this method has strict regulations and the hospital also limits its dosage.

Usually, the dosage of intravenous injection is 10-20 meq/ hour. Because it takes time to balance the electrolyte concentration inside and outside the cell, the input is slow. When used in the state-approved lethal injection, a large dose of potassium will affect the electrical conduction of myocardium. Excessive blood potassium makes the potential of myocardial cells lower than normal (positively charged). If there is no negative potential, heart cells cannot be stimulated to contract.

Depolarized muscle cells inhibit their exercise ability by reducing available sodium channels. ECG changes include faster repolarization (T wave reaches the peak), longer PR interval, wider QRS, possible sine wave formation and final cardiac arrest. The case that this patient died of hyperkalemia (second only to renal failure) is very famous in the medical field. In this case, the patient usually dies quickly, although it may look good a second ago.

Potassium chloride is also used for abortion in some cases.

To sum up, potassium chloride is not the key, but the dosage and usage. As we all know, salt is sodium chloride, and it is ok to eat it every day, but if you eat one bag at a time, you will definitely die. If you inject half a bag intravenously, you will die immediately.