Potassium supplementation, diet vs pills: a randomized trial in postoperative cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Cardiac surgery patients are commonly treated with diuretics, which can result in hypokalemia requiring potassium supplementation.

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether cardiac surgery patients receiving therapy with potassium-wasting diuretics can safely and beneficially maintain serum potassium levels by eating potassium-rich foods.

Design: A prospectively randomized trial of diet vs medication supplementation of potassium was undertaken.