Documento práctico del manejo de la hiponatremia en pacientes críticos / Practical document on the management of hyponatremia in critically ill patients

La hiponatremia es el trastorno electrolítico más prevalente en las Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos. Se asocia a un aumento de la morbilidad, mortalidad y estancia hospitalaria. La mayoría de los estudios publicados hasta el momento son observacionales, retrospectivos y no incluyen pacientes críticos, lo que dificulta la extracción de conclusiones sólidas. Además, debido a la escasa evidencia científica de calidad, incluso las recomendaciones realizadas por distintas sociedades científicas recientemente publicadas difieren en aspectos importantes como son el diagnóstico o el tratamiento de la hiponatremia. Los mecanismos etiopatogénicos en los pacientes críticos suelen ser complejos. Sin embargo, hay que profundizar en ellos para llegar al diagnóstico más probable y a la pauta de tratamiento más adecuada. Todo ello, ha motivado la realización de esta revisión práctica sobre aspectos útiles en el abordaje de la hiponatremia en las Unidades de Cuidados intensivos, con el objetivo de homogeneizar el manejo de esta entidad y disponer de un algoritmo diagnóstico a nivel nacional

Hyponatremia is the most prevalent electrolyte disorder in Intensive Care Units. It is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality and hospital stay. The majority of the published studies are observational, retrospective and do not include critical patients; hence it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Moreover, the lack of clinical evidence has led to important dissimilarities in the recommendations coming from different scientific societies. Finally, etiopathogenic mechanisms leading to hyponatremia in the critical care patient are complex and often combined, and an intensive analysis is clearly needed. A study was therefore made to review all clinical aspects about hyponatremia management in the critical care setting. The aim was to develop a Spanish nationwide algorithm to standardize hyponatremia diagnosis and treatment in the critical care patient

Practical document on the management of hyponatremia in critically ill patients. / Documento práctico del manejo de la hiponatremia en pacientes críticos.

Hyponatremia is the most prevalent electrolyte disorder in Intensive Care Units. It is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality and hospital stay. The majority of the published studies are observational, retrospective and do not include critical patients; hence it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Moreover, the lack of clinical evidence has led to important dissimilarities in the recommendations coming from different scientific societies. Finally, etiopathogenic mechanisms leading to hyponatremia in the critical care patient are complex and often combined, and an intensive analysis is clearly needed. A study was therefore made to review all clinical aspects about hyponatremia management in the critical care setting. The aim was to develop a Spanish nationwide algorithm to standardize hyponatremia diagnosis and treatment in the critical care patient.