“HOSPITAL BASED DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF HYPONATREMIA IN ELDERLY PATIENTS”

Background: Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte disturbance in the hospitalized elderly sick patient. Objectives: 1. To study clinical features and etiology of hyponatremia in elderly hospitalized patients. 2. To classify severity of hyponatremia in hospitalized elderly and to correlate with outcome following treatment. Methods: All elderly patients being admitted to ICU were screened for hyponatremia and 100 elderly hospitalized patients with severe hyponatremia were included in study, these patients were investigated as per protocol and were treated as per standardized regimen. Results: 100 patients with severe hyponatremia were studied. The common CNS symptoms were drowsiness, lethargy, confusion, seizures and unresponsiveness. There was female preponderance of cases (55%). The common co-morbid conditions were Hypertension (69) and diabetes mellitus (51). Females tolerated hyponatremia better than males with mortality of 9.09% in females and 33.33% in males (p=0.0026). In all 20 patients succumbed to their primary illness, with a possible contribution attributable to hyponatremia or its treatment. The common cause of Hyponatremia was SIADH (30) and drugs (24) of which diuretics is a major chunk. Conclusion: In general hyponatremia is common in females and they seem to better tolerate it than their male counterparts. Early detection, strict adherence to treatment protocol is required.Diuretics should be used with caution in elderly.