ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Regular consumption of licorice based beverages can provoke pseudohyperaldosteronism with hypokalemia but can rarely lead to severe muscle weakness. CASE REPORT: A 62-year-old man was admitted for a one-week history of progressive weakness of the four limbs. Blood work revealed severe hypokalemia that was due to primary pseudo-hyperaldosteronism secondary to licorice intoxication. He became normal after correction of the electrolytes disturbances. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: In an area where a liquorice-based beverage (souss), is frequently and sometimes excessively consumed, pseudo-hyperaldosteronism secondary to licorice toxicity should be thought of in front of any muscle weakness accompanied by hypokalemia. A rapid correction of electrolytes disturbances leads to rapid improvement.
Subject(s)
Glycyrrhiza/adverse effects , Muscle Weakness/etiology , Quadriplegia/etiology , Beverages , Humans , Hypokalemia/etiology , Male , Middle Aged , Pseudohypoaldosteronism/chemically induced , Pseudohypoaldosteronism/complicationsABSTRACT
We describe a patient with Kleine-Levin syndrome who was initially misdiagnosed as having epilepsy and who achieved complete remission on carbamazepine treatment. A drug effect was established when symptoms recurred after carbamazepine taper and disappeared after reintroduction of the drug. Carbamazepine, a safer drug than lithium, can be a highly effective treatment in some patients with Kleine-Levin syndrome. This syndrome can sometimes be confused with epilepsy because of the episodic nature of the symptoms and the occasional response to anticonvulsants.