Potassium chloride 20% (potassium 13.3mmol/5ml) solution for infusion 5ml ampoules
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
A white crystal or crystalline powder used as an electrolyte replenisher, in the treatment of hypokalemia, in buffer solutions, and in fertilizers and explosives.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
View Drug Analysis Profile
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Potassium chloride
Browse all iDAP reports
Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
View EudraVigilance report
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Potassium chloride
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
4 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Potassium chloride on the MHRA register
Potassium chloride 20% (potassium 13.3mmol/5ml) solution for infusion 5ml ampoules
Potassium chloride 20% (potassium 13.3mmol/5ml) solution for infusion 5ml ampoules
Potassium chloride 20% (potassium 13.3mmol/5ml) solution for infusion 5ml ampoules
Martindale Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Potassium chloride 20% (potassium 13.3mmol/5ml) solution for infusion 5ml ampoules
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Potassium chloride
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(14)
Intravenous fluid therapy in adults in hospital (CG174)
Diarrhoea and vomiting caused by gastroenteritis in under 5s: diagnosis and management (CG84)
Neonatal parenteral nutrition (NG154)
Intravenous fluid therapy in children and young people in hospital (NG29)
Diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in children and young people: diagnosis and management (NG18)
Patiromer for treating hyperkalaemia (TA623)
Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate for treating hyperkalaemia (TA599)
Intravenous fluid therapy in adults in hospital (QS66)
Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NG136)
Acute kidney injury: prevention, detection and management (NG148)
i STAT CG4+ and CHEM8+ cartridges for point-of-care testing in the emergency department (MIB38)
Constipation in children and young people: diagnosis and management (CG99)
The NxStage System One NX1000‑1 home haemodialysis device for renal replacement therapy in chronic kidney disease (MIB12)
Abortion care (NG140)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
Not available
Mechanism
Supplemental potassium in the form of high potassium food or potassium chloride…
Food interactions
2 warnings
Human targets
6 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
Elimination
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
The FDA withdrew its approval for the use of all solid oral dosage form drug products containing potassium chloride that supply 100 mg or more of potassium per dosage unit, except for controlled-release dosage forms and those products formulated for preparation of solution prior to ingestion.[L43942]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 955 interactions
Late manifestations include muscle paralysis and cardiovascular collapse from cardiac arrest (9-12 mEq/L).
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:16669787 PMID:32081947 PMID:32294086 PMID:33597714 PMID:35585053 PMID:36239040 PMID:36306358 PMID:7629105
Plays a vital role in the regulation of ionic balance and cell volume PMID:16669787 PMID:32081947 PMID:32294086 PMID:7629105
PMID:21321328
Electrically silent transporter system (By similarity)
PMID:12106695
As major extruder of intracellular chloride, it establishes the low neuronal Cl(-) levels required for chloride influx after binding of GABA-A and glycine to their receptors, with subsequent hyperpolarization and neuronal inhibition (By similarity). Involved in the regulation of dendritic spine formation and maturation PMID:24668262
PMID:10600773 PMID:11551954 PMID:16048901 PMID:18566107 PMID:19665974 PMID:21628467 PMID:27485015
May contribute to cell volume homeostasis in single cells PMID:16048901 PMID:27485015
PMID:10913127
May mediate K(+) uptake into Deiters' cells in the cochlea and contribute to K(+) recycling in the inner ear. Important for the survival of cochlear outer and inner hair cells and the maintenance of the organ of Corti. May be required for basolateral Cl(-) extrusion in the kidney and contribute to renal acidification (By similarity)
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:16669787 PMID:32081947 PMID:32294086 PMID:33597714 PMID:35585053 PMID:36239040 PMID:36306358 PMID:7629105
Plays a vital role in the regulation of ionic balance and cell volume PMID:16669787 PMID:32081947 PMID:32294086 PMID:7629105
PMID:21321328
Electrically silent transporter system (By similarity)
PMID:12106695
As major extruder of intracellular chloride, it establishes the low neuronal Cl(-) levels required for chloride influx after binding of GABA-A and glycine to their receptors, with subsequent hyperpolarization and neuronal inhibition (By similarity). Involved in the regulation of dendritic spine formation and maturation PMID:24668262
PMID:10600773 PMID:11551954 PMID:16048901 PMID:18566107 PMID:19665974 PMID:21628467 PMID:27485015
May contribute to cell volume homeostasis in single cells PMID:16048901 PMID:27485015
PMID:10913127
May mediate K(+) uptake into Deiters' cells in the cochlea and contribute to K(+) recycling in the inner ear. Important for the survival of cochlear outer and inner hair cells and the maintenance of the organ of Corti. May be required for basolateral Cl(-) extrusion in the kidney and contribute to renal acidification (By similarity)
PMID:35759661
May contribute to cell volume homeostasis in single cells .
PMID:10913127 PMID:34031912
May be involved in the regulation of basolateral Cl(-) exit in NaCl absorbing epithelia (By similarity)
ATC B05XA01
ATC A12BA01
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Show
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Potassium chloride
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
53
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
11393
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
4608
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
4959
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
6485
ChemSpider
4707
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10911
GenAtlas
SLC12A2
GeneCards
SLC12A2
GenBank Gene Database
U30246
GenBank Protein Database
903682
Guide to Pharmacology
969
UniProt Accession
S12A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10910
GenAtlas
SLC12A1
GeneCards
SLC12A1
GenBank Gene Database
U58130
GenBank Protein Database
1373425
Guide to Pharmacology
968
UniProt Accession
S12A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:13818
GenAtlas
SLC12A5
GeneCards
SLC12A5
GenBank Gene Database
AF208159
GenBank Protein Database
12003227
Guide to Pharmacology
972
UniProt Accession
S12A5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10914
GenAtlas
SLC12A6
GeneCards
SLC12A6
GenBank Gene Database
AF116242
GenBank Protein Database
6693798
UniProt Accession
S12A6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10915
GenAtlas
SLC12A7
GeneCards
SLC12A7
GenBank Gene Database
AF105365
GenBank Protein Database
5106521
UniProt Accession
S12A7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10913
GenAtlas
SLC12A4
GeneCards
SLC12A4
GenBank Gene Database
U55054
GenBank Protein Database
1399212
UniProt Accession
S12A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10911
GenAtlas
SLC12A2
GeneCards
SLC12A2
GenBank Gene Database
U30246
GenBank Protein Database
903682
Guide to Pharmacology
969
UniProt Accession
S12A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10910
GenAtlas
SLC12A1
GeneCards
SLC12A1
GenBank Gene Database
U58130
GenBank Protein Database
1373425
Guide to Pharmacology
968
UniProt Accession
S12A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:13818
GenAtlas
SLC12A5
GeneCards
SLC12A5
GenBank Gene Database
AF208159
GenBank Protein Database
12003227
Guide to Pharmacology
972
UniProt Accession
S12A5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10914
GenAtlas
SLC12A6
GeneCards
SLC12A6
GenBank Gene Database
AF116242
GenBank Protein Database
6693798
UniProt Accession
S12A6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10915
GenAtlas
SLC12A7
GeneCards
SLC12A7
GenBank Gene Database
AF105365
GenBank Protein Database
5106521
UniProt Accession
S12A7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10913
GenAtlas
SLC12A4
GeneCards
SLC12A4
GenBank Gene Database
U55054
GenBank Protein Database
1399212
UniProt Accession
S12A4_HUMAN
International reference pricing
Reference pricing from DrugBank. Prices are indicative and may not reflect current UK costs.
Source: DrugBank. Used under CC BY-NC 4.0 academic licence for non-commercial purposes.
Patent information
19 active patents, 4 expired
Source: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0. Patent data sourced from national patent offices. Expiry dates may not reflect extensions, regulatory exclusivity periods, or legal challenges.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: