Extracellular volume depletion and resultant hypotonic hyponatremia: A novel translational approach

Although several methods currently exist to determine that a person is hypovolemic, it often remains very challenging to accurately estimate the effective circulating volume or amount of intravascular volume depletion in a non-controlled setting. This depletion of intravascular volume can have many causes and is frequently accompanied by hypotonic hyponatremia as a result of hypovolemia-induced release of arginine vasopressin (AVP) from the posterior pituitary gland. Here, we derive a novel, comprehensible equation that provides a theoretical insight into the complex interrelationship between the degree of isotonic volume depletion and the resultant change in plasma sodium concentration. We believe that the presented model can prove to be a valuable tool for the analysis of fluid and electrolyte imbalances.