Research Information System
TURKISH JOURNAL OF GERIATRICS-TURK GERIATRI DERGISI, vol.19, no.3, pp.139-145, 2016 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
Introduction: Hyponatremia is a significant and common electrolyte disorder in elderly patients that affects in-hospital mortality. We herein aimed to assess the effect of hyponatremia on mortality of elderly patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of hyponatremia from the emergency department. Materials and Method: Medical records of 7659 patients aged 65 and over hospitalized in Antalya Education and Research Hospital Internal Medicine Clinics between 1 January 2010 and 31 June 2015 were retrospectively screened. Laboratory values, age, sex, comorbidities, medications, complaints at admission, duration of hospital stay and outcomes of 856 patients diagnosed with hyponatremia according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system were evaluated. Total 138 pure hyponatremia patients without major diagnosis other than hyponatremia were analyzed. Results: Among a total of 7659 geriatric patients hospitalized during the study period, all-cause and pure hyponatremia prevalences were 11.1% (856/7659) and 1.8% (138/7659), respectively. The 3 most common causes of hyponatremia were diuretic use (47/138, 34%), syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (27/138, 19.5%), and reduced oral intake (18/138, 13%). The average duration of hospital stay was 5 days and in-hospital mortality was 5.8% (8/138). Conclusion: The most common causes of hyponatremia in elderly patients requiring hospitalization were diuretic use, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion and reduced oral intake. The mortality of patients hospitalized with purely hyponatremia is not different from the normal population.