Renal Tubular Acidosis Following Wasp Sting: a Case Report

Wasp stings are not uncommon, particularly in the warmer climates, as people tend to spend longer times outside. A 49-year-old healthy gentleman had suffered multiple wasp stings all over his body. At the primary health centre, he was documented to have had flaccid quadriparesis with serum potassium of 2.3 mEq/L. At our institute, we diagnosed distal renal tubular acidosis. With history and investigations, we have excluded the major causes of distal renal tubular acidosis. We concluded that the wasp sting was responsible for distal renal tubular acidosis. The bradykinin contained in the wasp venom inhibits the basolateral 40-pS K + channel activity in the distal convoluted tubules and stimulates potassium excretion.