Xiao Wang often felt weakness in both lower limbs, and this situation has been repeatedly appeared for five years. One day she woke up early in the morning and found that she had weakness in both lower limbs and could not walk. Shi Lipu, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Zhengzhou People’s Hospital
About 50% of patients with dry syndrome have kidney damage, with distal renal tubular damage being the most common, manifesting as limb weakness and loss of autonomy. It starts from the limbs first, then leads to difficulty in turning over, lifting the neck, sitting up, and even difficulty in breathing. The symptoms disappear after potassium supplementation, and the symptoms recur and are easy to recur, which is very easy to be misdiagnosed as periodic hypokalemic paralysis. After the distal renal tubules are damaged, the response to antidiuretic hormone is reduced and water reabsorption is impaired, causing polyuria, irritability, urine volume up to 3000 ml/day or more, decreased urine concentration function, increased nocturia, which can seriously cause nephrogenic chondromalacia, urinary stones and renal tissue calcification.
After regular treatment of the primary disease, Xiao Wang’s blood potassium returned to normal and no further symptoms of bilateral lower limb weakness occurred. It is recommended that if you have weakness of the limbs and hypokalemia, please go to the rheumatology and immunology department, and do not ignore the unfamiliar disease of “dry syndrome”. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the prognosis.