Prevalence and Impact of Hyponatremia on Hospital Stay in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients

Abstract

Introduction: This research study was designed to ascertain the prevalence of hyponatremia and its impact on the duration of hospital stay in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in our local population. Materials & Methods: We carried out this study at the Department of Neurology, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar for 1 year, which started in March 2022. The total sample size was 90 and a consecutive sampling method was used for sampling the study population. Patients aged between 20 to 70 years and who had a diagnosis of SAH were involved in included in the study, while those with confounding conditions were put in the exclusion criteria. Results: Our study showed a high prevalence of hyponatremia (42%) in patients with SAH, and it was associated with a prolonged duration of hospital stays of 8.2 days (SD±3.5). There was a statistical difference in the mean hospital stay between the patients with hyponatremia and those without hyponatremia (t=3.2, p<0.002). Conclusion: Our study reported a high prevalence of hyponatremia in SAH patients and has established an association with longer hospital stays. Thus, identifying and managing patients of hyponatremia with SAH promptly should be emphasized for better results and to lessen the financial burden on families and the hospital.