Short-Term Outcomes of Patients With Hyponatremia Presenting to the Emergency Department: An Observational Study

Hyponatremia is the predominant electrolyte imbalance disorder in the emergency department. It can manifest with a diverse array of symptoms, ranging from non-specific and moderate to severe and even life-threatening. There is a scarcity of literature addressing the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with hyponatremia presenting to the emergency department in the western part of Rajasthan. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of hyponatremia on the outcomes of patients presenting to the emergency department.

In this prospective, cross-sectional, observational study, 200 patients aged more than 18 years who presented to the emergency department with serum sodium < 135 mEq/l were included. The triage of patients was determined by their primary complaints. The primary outcome was to study the clinical profile of patients with hyponatremia presenting to the emergency department. The secondary outcomes were to examine the etiology, i.e., hypovolemic, euvolemic, or hypervolemic, and the outcome of patients on the 7th day (patient admitted to the ward or intensive care unit) and the 28th day (discharged or death) with hyponatremia presenting to the emergency department. The clinical status of the patients was noted by telephonic follow-up in case they were not admitted for this period.

Out of 200 patients, 66 (33%) had hypovolemic, 96 (48%) had euvolemic, and 38 (19%) had hypervolemic hyponatremia. We observed that seizures (84.2%), confusion (56%), and coma (77.7%) were the most common clinical features of patients with severe hyponatremia in the emergency, which was statistically significant than mild and moderate hyponatremia (p = 0.03, 0.023, and 0.029, respectively). On the 7th day of hospitalization, out of 181 (90.5%) admissions in the ward, 116 (64.08%) had severe hyponatremia, and out of 19 (9.5%) ICU admissions, 13 (68.4%) had severe hyponatremia. Death was seen in five (2.5%) patients, one (20%) in moderate and four (80%) in severe hyponatremia cases.

Most cases of hyponatremia in this study were euvolemic. Most patients experienced severe hyponatremia, and seizures, confusion, and coma were the most prevalent symptoms. These disorders must be recognized early to properly diagnose and treat hyponatremia and prevent its morbidity and death.