STUDY OF SERUM SODIUM LEVELS IN DECOMPENSATED CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE

Dr. Philomena James; Dr Sathi Vajaravelu; Dr Arun Natesh Radhakrishnan

Volume : V, Issue : X, October - 2016

STUDY OF SERUM SODIUM LEVELS IN DECOMPENSATED CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE

Dr. Philomena James, Dr Sathi Vajaravelu, Dr Arun Natesh Radhakrishnan

Abstract :

Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease is associated with disturbances in regulation of water balance leading on to abnormalities in serum sodium. Dilutional Hyponatremia due to impaired free water clearance is the most common dysnatremia while hypernatremia due to cathartic use has also been reported in few studies. The aim of this study was to study the serum sodium levels in patients with DCLD and to establish its significance. Methods: Data were collected from 97 patients admitted in medical wards. Patients were divided into groups based on serum sodium levels and the relevant parameters analyzed among the groups. Results: Among 97 patients, 42 (43.30%)had serum sodium levels ≥136 mEq/L, while 32(32.99%)had serum sodium levels between 131 and 135 mEq/L. 23(23.71%) patients had serum sodium level ≤130. No patients had serum sodium levels greater than 145. Serum sodium levels was associated strongly with the severity of liver disease as assessed by Child Pugh and MELD score. Patients with serum sodium less than 130 mEq/L had increased frequency of complications than those with ≥136 mEq/L. Patient with serum sodium levels ≤130 had increased mortality(30.4%; p value- 0.002) Conclusion: Hyponatremia is more common in DCLD and low serum sodium levels are associated with increased frequency of complications of DCLD, increased MELD, CPS score and mortality indicating the inverse relationship between serum sodium levels and severity of the disease.