Hyponatremia in Elderly Patients With Fractures Around the Hip; Role of Glutamate (CSF Glutamate Study)

These patients are also at a higher risk of the complications of hyponatremia such as brain injury, the main result of acute symptomatic hyponatremia and associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Severe hyponatremia (i.e., a serum sodium concentration <125 mmol/L) ), if unrecognized in its first stages and left untreated, has a high rate of mortality; for this reason, an accurate clinical assessment must be made, focusing on fluid status, examining the potential etiology, and conducting the appropriate investigations. In approximately 50% of patients, chronic hyponatremia results from inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion. Chronic mild hyponatremia is usually asymptomatic and is traditionally regarded as benign. However, it is associated with a lower bone mineral content and density in nearly all regions of the hip, with more pronounced losses in the trochanteric and femoral neck regions. It can also lead to osteoporosis, abnormal gait patterns, cognitive impairment, bone demineralization, respiratory failure, noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, falls, and fractures. Compared to normonatremic individuals, hyponatremic individuals are known to have a longer time from admission to surgery.

Glutamate which is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in our body may play role in implication of hyponatremia on the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample can be taken while dripling during spinal anathesia for surgical intervention for determination of glutamate