(1) Background: This observational study aimed to verify the association between serum potassium levels and hospitalization days in patients with chronic kidney disease in a follow up of nine months. (2) Methods: Patients with chronic kidney disease were divided into group A (180 patients, potassium ≤ 5.1 mEq/L) and B (90 patients, potassium > 5.1 mEq/L). Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney test, Pearson’s Chi-Square test, Pearson/Spearman’s correlation test and linear regression test were performed in the entire sample and in stage-G4/5 subsample. (3) Results: Groups A and B differed for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (34.89 (IQR, 16.24–57.98) vs. 19.8 (IQR, 10.50–32.50) mL/min/1.73 m2; p < 0.0001), hemoglobin (11.64 ± 2.20 vs. 10.97 ± 2.19 g/dL, p = 0.048), sum of hospitalization days (8 (IQR, 6–10) vs. 11 (IQR, 7–15) days; p < 0.0001) and use of angiotensin II receptor blockers (40.2% vs. 53.3%; p = 0.010). Considering patients with eGFR 6–30 mL/min/1.73 m2, differences in the sum of hospitalization days were confirmed. Multivariable regression analysis showed that hyperkalemia is an independent risk factor of increased hospital length. In stage G4-G5, regression analysis showed that hyperkalemia is the only independent risk factor (β = 2.93, 95% confidence interval, 0.077–5.794, p = 0.044). (4) Conclusions: We observed significantly greater odds of increased length of hospital stay among patients with higher potassium, mostly in stages G4–G5 chronic kidney disease.

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The prevalence of CKDu in the NCP shows an increase with a declining trend from 2014 to 2016 which could be a result of the change in the source of drinking water from dug wells and tube wells to natural spring water, bottled water, and water sold in water shops that commenced around 2008. After 2014, many RO plants and a health behavior program aimed at CKDu patients were introduced, which could be a factor in a decline in the prevalence of the disease after 2016. Conclusions: The change in the source of drinking water and other behavioral changes adopted by the villagers have contributed to a considerable reduction in the prevalence of CKDu. The new programs seem also to have contributed to a diminution of the progression of CKDu in individual patients. However, women now have to spend about 1.5-2 hours each day on RO water collection, carrying heavy containers from a distance, and this has made their role more demanding and arduous. Patients reported that symptoms such as back pain, headache, and burning sensations disappeared after the introduction of RO water for drinking. Each household used 32.08 liters of RO water a day, costing some Rs. 1,350 ($7.5) a month. After the introduction of RO water, most farmers who worked under the hot sun did not experience dysuria. The mean serum creatinine (SCr) values in the sample of 30 respondents fell from 3.06 mg/dL to 2.28 mg/dL over two to three years after the adoption of behavioral changes and switching to RO water. Out of the sample, 23 saw a considerable decrease in SCr from 2.62 mg/dL to 1.94 mg/dL who followed the instructions and switched to RO water, but there were seven patients whose SCr values increased. The behaviors that may have affected the SCr values in these cases include smoking, alcohol use, agricultural work, irregular medicine intake, taking ayurvedic medicine, and the use of dug well water for drinking, cooking and making tea.

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