Prevalence of Hyponatremia in Intensive Care Unit Patients With Brain Injury in Kashan Shahid-Beheshti Hospital in 2012

BACKGROUND: Hyponatremia is a common disorder in patients with brain injury. It can result in acute and chronic complications providing this electrolytic disorder is not diagnosed and treated in due time. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hyponatremia in 95 brain injury patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) in Kashan Shahid-Veheshti hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This trans-sectional study was conducted on brain injury patients (brain traumas, brain hemorrhage, meningitis and brain tumors) during their six-month stay in the ICU in Kashan Shahid-Beheshti hospital. Data were analyzed after excluding cases of pseudohyponatremia. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients with brain injury (69.5% male and 30.5% female ( had a mean age of 42.85 ± 22.59 years, while the hyponatremic patients had a mean age of 48.37 ± 24.03 years. Prevalence and occurrence of hyponatremia were 31.6% and 9.29 ± 6.8 days, respectively. This study revealed no meaningful differences between age, sex, underlying disease and the prevalence of hyponatremia. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed an elevated frequency of hyponatremia in patients with brain injuries in ICU which demands the effective approaches for an accurate and timely diagnosis of this electrolyte disorder.