Abstract

Hyponatremia is a dominant feature and is of primary concern in liver cirrhosis. It is an important prognostic factor for the severity and complications of liver cirrhosis associated with poor survival. The issue of hyponatremia in liver cirrhosis has been the subject of intense debate within the scientific community. Aims and objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate serum sodium levels in subjects having liver cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: This study included all patients over the age of 18 who were admitted with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis at JAH group of hospitals in Gwalior. The study was conducted over a period of six months, from September 2022 to February 2023. Patients with chronic kidney disease, heart failure, and those taking thiazide diuretics were also eliminated. An organised proforma was used to record the patients' demographic information. Class A, B, and C of the Child Pugh Score were used to categorise the severity of cirrhosis. Ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatorenal syndrome, and variceal haemorrhage were among the cirrhosis-related consequences that were seen. On the basis of speech anomalies, personality changes, intellectual difficulties, and flapping tremors, hepatic encephalopathy was determined to be present. It received an absent, mild, or severe grade. Results: A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Majority were in the age group of 41-50 years (54.7%) with a mean age of 50.37±10.9 (mean±SD), with the age ranging from 30 to 78 years. There was a male preponderance (96, 96%). The current study found that hyponatremia (≤130 meq/L) was present in 42 patients (42%). The difference in the demographic characteristics of the patients between the two groups was not statistically significant. Causative factors for liver cirrhosis included alcoholic liver disease (90, 90%), chronic hepatitis B (07, 7%) and unknown cause (03 cases, 3%). There was no evidence that the aetiology of liver cirrhosis had an influence on the sodium levels in these patients.Majority of the patients belonged to Child Pugh C (79%). Hepatorenal syndrome and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis occurred more commonly in patients having low sodium levels. The results of this study show that the association of hyponatremia with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and hepatorenal syndrome was highly significant. Conclusion: Low sodium levels in cirrhosis has a positive correlation with the disease severity, hepatorenal syndrome and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Description