Michael Lazzari responds to Eglen.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)

Dr. Douglas E. Eglen's remarks in MLO's May 2009 issue (p. 6) about, "A Harmful Banana" (April 2009, p. 50) helps clarify a common misconception that eating food high in potassium alone will cause hyperkalemia. The objective of the article, however, was to examine the different causes of hyperkalemia, using an "eye-grabbing" title. Through--out the article, there were several references to indicate that eating bananas alone did not cause the patient's hyperkalemia: Figure 2: "Hyperkalemia due to excess ingestion is usually accompanied with having renal failure." On page 52: "The following causes contributed to this patient's hyperkalemia: chronic renal failure, prescription drugs (Zestril, Toprol, and Aldactone), increased potassium in food, and diabetes." The concept of hyperkalemia being caused by increased ingestion alone was further explained by Dr. Eglen, and his comments were much appreciated.

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