General characteristics of patients with electrolyte imbalance admitted to emergency department

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Fluid and electrolyte balance is a key concept to understand for maintaining homeostasis, and for a successful treatment of many metabolic disorders. There are various regulating mechanisms for the equilibrium of electrolytes in organisms. Disorders of these mechanisms result in electrolyte imbalances that may be life-threatening clinical conditions. In this study we defined the electrolyte imbalance characteristics of patients admitted to our emergency department.METHODS:This study was conducted in the Emergency Department (ED) of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, and included 996 patients over 18 years of age. All patients had electrolyte imbalance, with various etiologies other than traumatic origin. Demographic and clinical parameters were collected after obtaining informed consent from the patients. The ethical committee of the university approved this study.RESULTS:The mean age of the patients was 59.28±16.79, and 55% of the patients were male. The common symptoms of the patients were dyspnea (14.7%), fever (13.7%), and systemic deterioration (11.9%); but the most and least frequent electrolyte imbalances were hyponatremia and hypermagnesemia, respectively. Most frequent findings in physical examination were confusion (14%), edema (10%) and rales (9%); and most frequent pathological findings in ECG were tachycardia in 24%, and atrial fibrillation in 7% of the patients. Most frequent comorbidity was malignancy (39%). Most frequent diagnoses in the patients were sepsis (11%), pneumonia (9%), and acute renal failure (7%).CONCLUSIONS:Electrolyte imbalances are of particular importance in the treatment of ED patients. Therefore, ED physicians must be acknowledged of their fluid-electrolyte balance dynamics and general characteristics.

Prevalence of Electrolyte Abnormalities in Emergency Patients

“…Balci et al also observed in their study that the patients who had hyperkalemia, the most frequent diagnosis were sepsis, infections and renal failure. (1) In our study, we also observed the higher blood urea levels in 32.08% patients and raised creatinine levels in 20.53% patients. This can be attributed to lack of proper fluid treatment, use of medicines which are nephrotoxic and infections were the main factors related with acute kidney failure.…”

“…Electrolyte disturbances are common in most of the diseases and in the management of various clinical disorders, the fluid and electrolyte balance must also be maintained. (1) While estimating the electrolytes, the imbalances in every electrolyte must be considered for effective treatment of the patient. The most common electrolyte imbalances are hypo-and hyper-states of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium.…”

Knowledge, Attitude and practice of general medical practitioners and specialty physicians regarding diseases of electrolyte imbalances

“…Studies about the clinical prevalence of electrolyte imbalances often report that these disorders are frequently seen in elderly and critically ill patients, and occur in the progression of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, acute or chronic renal failures, severe cardiovascular events like myocardial infarctions, etc. To summarize, disturbances in electrolyte balances are mathematically measurable biochemical parameters in the bloodstream that determines the clinical manifestations of interactions between metabolic events such as sepsis, hormones, vascular events, medications, hydration deficiencies, and renal physiology [6,[11][12][13][14].…”

“…The main responsible organ for this regulation is the kidney, but other mechanisms like hormonal activities of antidiuretic hormone, aldosterone and parathyroid hormone are also involved in this process. The disorders of these systems may deteriorate the electrolyte balances and results in emergencies [6]. The present study was planned to study the Knowledge, Attitude and practice of general medical practitioners and specialty physicians regarding diseases of electrolyte imbalances.…”

“…Imbalances in every electrolyte must be considered in a combined and associated fashion, and examinations must aim to clarify the clinical scenario for an effective and successful treatment. Most of important and prevailing electrolyte imbalances are hypo-and hyperstates of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium [4][5][6].…”