A Study of the Clinicoetiological Profile of Hyponatremia in Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND

Hyponatremia is a common and important electrolyte imbalance seen both in isolation and more commonly, as a complication of other medical illnesses. With a wide spectrum of presentations, the prognostic implications are grave and far-reaching if not addressed meticulously. Despite the knowledge of hyponatremia since the mid-20th century, data on the prevalence and clinical profile of hyponatremia are scarce, to say the least, from the Indian subcontinent. We took up this hospital-based observational study to explore the clinicoetiological profile of hyponatremia.

RESULTS

Mean serum sodium level was 122.24 ± 6.10. Most of the patients had severe hyponatremia (63.3%). The most common cause of hyponatremia, as well as severe and euvolemic hyponatremia, was syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) (21.9%). Most patients with SIADH had tubercular meningitis (TBM). The most common type of hyponatremia was hypovolemic hyponatremia (42.4%), of which sepsis was the most common cause.

CONCLUSION

Further prospective studies are required as hyponatremia remains incompletely understood in many basic areas because of its association with a plethora of underlying disease states, its causation by multiple etiologies with differing pathophysiological mechanisms, and marked differences in symptomatology and clinical outcomes based on the acuteness or chronicity of hyponatremia; also, optimal treatment strategies have not been well defined for these reasons.