FREQUENCY OF HYPONATREMIA AND IN-HOSPITAL CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN THESE PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED FOR HEART FAILURE

Objective: To determine the frequency of hyponatremia and in-hospital clinical outcomes in hyponatremic patients hospitalized for heart failure. Methodology: This was a descriptive study conducted in department of cardiology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Both male and female patients aged 14 years and above admitted with heart failure fulfilling the inclusion criteria, were included in the study. Patients were subjected to detailed history and clinical examination. Admission Serum sodium was measured in all patients. All the patients were managed according to guidelines. All patients were followed for in hospital mortality and length of hospital stay (LOHS). Results: The total number of patients was 241. Mean age was 59.2 ± 14.9 (range 18–100) years. Females were 123 (51%) patients. Mean serum sodium was 136±5.1mmol/L. Hyponatremia (serum sodium ≤135mmol/L) was found in 85 (35.3%) patients. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 5.4%. Lower values of serum sodium at admission was associated with higher in-hospital mortality of 8.2% as compared with 3.8% for those patients with normal serum sodium (p=0.23). Mean Length of Hospital stay (LOHS) for overall CHF patients was 3.8+2.24 days. Longer mean LOHS, 4.1±1.8 days was observed for hyponatremic group compared with 3.7±2.4days for normonatremic group (p=0.009). Conclusions: Hyponatremia is a common finding in hospitalized heart failure patients and is associated with significantly longer length of hospital stay. In addition hyponatremia is associated with higher but statistically insignificant in-hospital mortality in heart failure patients.