A review of the diagnosis and management of hyponatremia in connolly hospital: an audit of current practice and the construction of a clinical aid for the diagnosis and treatment of Hyponatremia

Excerpt

Hyponatraemia is the most common example of body fluid and electrolyte imbalance encountered in clinical practice, and is associated with increased mortality, morbidity and length of hospital stay in patients [1]. In spite of this, the diagnosis and management of hyponatremia remains inconsistent as clinicians adopt a broad range of hospital- and specialty-specific approaches [1, 2]. In light of this observed inconsistency, the objectives of the present project were: (i) To audit all patients admitted to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown (CHB) Emergency Department (ED) with hyponatremia (<135 mmol/L) over a 14 day period. (ii) Record the diagnostic and management methods employed, comparing them with recent guidelines published by the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE). (iii) To construct a clinical aid for the diagnosis and treatment of hyponatremia, specific to CHB. …