Evaluation of Electrolyte Imbalance in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury Admitted in the Central ICU of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Prospective Observational Study

Introduction Electrolyte imbalance is a salient finding in traumatic brain injury which can derail their clinical course of recovery in physical and cognitive health while prolonging the hospital stay. Objective This study aims to understand the variation in electrolyte profile that occurs in traumatic brain injury patients which can help in better patient management. Materials and method 50 trauma patients with head injury (Group A) and 50 patients without head injury (Group B) admitted in Central ICU (CICU) under the Department of Anaesthesiology, Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) were selected and analysed with regard to their electrolyte variability. Result All trauma patients with head injury developed an imbalance to one or more electrolytes. Then mean electrolyte level in trauma patients with a head injury and in trauma patients without head injury were 139.3±7.45 vs 143.65±8.89, p<0.05 (sodium), 3.49±0.44 vs 3.88±0.49, p<0.05 (potassium), 7.81±0.5 vs 8.9± 0.35, p<0.05 (calcium) and 2±0.33 vs 2.47±0.41, p<0.05 (magnesium) respectively. Also, patients in the head injury group had a higher incidence of hypoalbuminemia than patients without head injury 2.47±0.67 vs 2.83±0.74 (p<0.05). Conclusion We conclude that traumatic brain injury patients have a greater risk of electrolyte imbalance, viz. hyponatremia, hypokalaemia, hypocalcaemia as well as hypomagnesemia, and hypophosphatemia along with hypoalbuminemia.