Abstract:
BACKGROUND:Hyponatremia,definedasaserum sodium concentration[Na+]<135mEq/L.Itis
themostcommonelectrolytedisorderencounteredinclinicalpractice.Therearemultiplecauses
ofhyponatremiaamongmedicaladmissions.Theetiology,clinicalbehaviorandtheprognosisof
hyponatremia vary widely.Findings from various researches showsthe prevalence of
hyponatremia in hospitalized patients rangesbetween15%–30%.The Clinicalfeatures and
outcomeofpatientswithhyponatremiadifferamongtheseverity,acutenessandothercomorbid
conditions.However,therewasnoevidenceregardingitsprevalenceandclinicaloutcomes.
Therefore,theobjectiveofthisstudywastoassesstheprevalence,clinicalprofileofpatients,risk
factorsandshorttermoutcomeofpatientsadmittedwithHyponatremiainJUMC.
MaterialsandMethods:Hospitalbasedcross-sectionalstudywasconductedfrom October25,
2021toJanuary30,2022 amongeligiblepatientsadmittedtoJimmauniversitymedicalcenter
atmedicalwardandmedicalemergency.Atotalof307patientsadmittedinmedicalwardand
medicalemergencydepartmentwereenrolledinthestudy.Detailedmedicalhistoryandclinical
examinationwereperformedandastructuredquestionnairewasusedtocollectinformationon
sociodemographiccharacteristics,clinicalprofileandshort-term outcomes.Serum sodium level
wasalsodeterminedforeverypatientinvolvedinthestudy.Descriptiveanalysiswasperformed.
Results:Themeanserum sodium levelamongtheparticipantswas137.5mmol/Landthe
prevalenceofhyponatremiawas24.8%.Amonghyponatremicpatients,themeanagewas44.87
(SD=17.88)yearsandthecommonestagegrouprangesinbetween24-44years(40.7%).Mild
hyponatremiaasthecommonesttypeseenin73.7%ofhyponatremicpatients.Riskfactorfor
hyponatremiawasseenin50% ofhyponatremicpatients.Vomitingisthemostfrequent
complainfollowedbysaltrestriction,medications.Hyponatremiawasfoundtobemoreprevalent
inthosepatientswithunderlyingchronicillnessesthatseenin58(76.3%)patients.Hypertension
isthemostfrequentlyobservedchronicillness.Majorityofhyponatremicpatients(61.8%)was
asymptomaticandNausea/vomitingwasthemostfrequentsymptom observedin23(62.2%).
Bodyswellingisobservedin36(47.4%)ofpatientsand19(25%)ofpatientshadatlistonerecord
ofhypertension.Themeanlengthofhospitalstaywas14.16(SD =10.18)days.Shortterm
outcome;72.3%ofpatientswasdischargedimprovedwhile5(6.6%)ofthemdiedinhospital.
Conclusion:HyponatremiaisfoundtobeprevalentamonghospitalizedpatientsinJimma
Universitymedicalcentermedicalwardandmedicalemergency,Jimma,Ethiopia.Itisalso
identifiedthatHyponatremiaisprevalentinpatientswithchronicillnesses,saltrestrictedpatients
andpatientstakingdiuretics.wethusrecommendthatallhospitalizedpatientsshouldhavea
serum sodium analysisduringtheiradmissionandforthosewithidentifiedriskfactorswe
stronglyrecommendtobeseriallyfollowedduringtheirhospitalstayandduringtheiroutpatient
follow-up
