Hyponatremia, defined as a plasma sodium concentration ≤ 135 mmol/L at admission, was associated with complications during episodes of acute pain from sickle cell disease, according to a large retrospective analysis.
The French study assessed 1,218 stays of 406 patients admitted for treatment of an acute painful episode of sickle cell disease between 2010-2015. The primary composite endpoint comprised acute chest syndrome, intensive care unit transfer, red blood cell transfusion or inpatient death. The analyses were adjusted for age, sex, hemoglobin genotype and concentration, LDH concentration, and white blood cell count, according to the researchers.
Hyponatremia at admission in the center was associated with the primary endpoint (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.95, P = .001). This association was independent from baseline demographic characteristics (age, sex, hemoglobin genotype) and from other prognostic factors examined in the study (lower hemoglobin concentration, higher white blood cell count and LDH concentration).
With regard to individual components of the primary endpoint, hyponatremia was associated with acute chest syndrome (OR 1.95, P = .008) and red blood cell transfusion (OR 2.71, P <.001), but not significantly with intensive care unit transfer (OR 1.83, P = .074). In addition, the adjusted mean length of stay was significantly longer by 1.1 days ( P < .001) in patients with hyponatremia at admission.
The study received no funding and the researchers reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
SOURCE: Rech JS et al. Amer J Med. 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.02.017.