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Hyponatremia Research Paper

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Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte imbalance seen by medical professionals. The cause is a disruption of sodium water homeostasis usually maintained by “complex multi-system physiological mechanism” explained Soiza et al (2014).
In hyponatremia the serum sodium concentration is below 135 meq/l. This condition is frequently seen in older patients due to degenerate physiology, multiple co-morbidities and polypharmacy discussed Soiza et al (2014).
Symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea, vomiting, headaches, changes in cognition, restlessness, irritability, muscle weakness or spasms, drowsiness, seizures and coma.
Particular causes of hyponatremia include fluids loss due to vomiting, diarrhea or diuretic therapy, low protein …show more content…

This excessive release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) causes an impairment of water excretion due to the body’s inability to suppress the secretion of the antidiuretic hormone. ADH controls water reabsortion from the kidney nephrons but when ADH secretion is not controlled this leads to water retention. Water retention causes blood to become diluted, decreasing the concentration of sodium. Patients suffering of SIADH usually present with the urine sodium concentration above 40meq/L, normal serum potassium concentration, no acid-based disturbance and low uric acid concentration reported Sterns …show more content…

Hyponatremia can develop in patients treated with thiazide type diuretics after many months of treatment. Elderly patients with low body mass and a reduce ability to excrete water load have a higher chance of developing thiazide induce hyponatremia Factors like gastrointestinal or respiratory illness, increases of diuretic dosage or the development of heart failure can also increase the risk of hyponatremia in patients receiving treatment with thiazide diuretics reported Sterns (2014).
Symptoms
The major clinical manifestation of hyponatremia includes nausea and malaise when serum sodium concentration falls below 125- 130meq/L. Other symptoms associated with thiazide induce hyponatremia include malaise, lethargy, dizzy spells and vomiting which are symptoms experienced with severe hyponatremia. In thiazide induce hyponatremia there is weight gain, blood urea nitrogen and plasma creatinine levels are usually low to normal and hypouricemia may be present explained

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