Electrolyte imbalance in COVID-19 patients admitted to the Emergency Department: a case–control study

In patients visiting the emergency department (ED), a potential association between electrolytes disturbance and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been well studied. We aim to describe electrolyte disturbance and explore risk factors for COVID-19 infection in patients visiting the ED. We carried out a case–control study in three hospitals in France, including adult ED inpatients (≥ 18 years old). A total of 594 ED case patients in whom infection with COVID-19 was confirmed, were matched to 594 non-COVID-19 ED patients (controls) from the same period, according to sex and age. Hyponatremia was defined by a sodium of less than 135 mmol/L (reference range 135–145 mmol/L), hypokalemia by a potassium of less than 3.5 mmol/L (reference range 3.5–5.0 mmol/L), and hypochloremia by a chloride of less than 95 mmol/L (reference range 98–108 mmol/L). Among both case patients and controls, the median (IQR) age was 65 years (IQR 51–76), and 44% were women. Hyponatremia was more common among case patients than among controls, as was hypokalemia and hypochloremia. Based on the results of the multivariate logistic regression, hyponatremia, and hypokalemia were associated with COVID-19 among case patients overall, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.89 [95% CI 1.24–2.89] for hyponatremia and 1.76 [95% CI 1.20–2.60] for hypokalemia. Hyponatremia and hypokalemia are independently associated with COVID-19 infection in adults visiting the ED, and could act as surrogate biomarkers for the emergency physician in suspected COVID-19 patients.