Hyponatremia and hospital outcomes among patients with pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Abstract Background Community-acquired (CAP) and nosocomial pneumonias contribute substantially to morbidity and hospital resource utilization. Hyponatremia, occurring in >1/4 of patients with CAP, is associated with greater disease severity and worsened outcomes. Methods To explore how hyponatremia is associated with outcomes in hospitalized patients with pneumonia, we analyzed a large administrative database with laboratory component from January 2004 to December 2005. Hyponatremia was defined as at least two [Na+] Results Of 7,965 patients with pneumonia, 649 (8.1%) with hyponatremia were older (72.4 ± 15.7 vs. 68.0 ± 22.0, p Conclusion Hyponatremia is common among hospitalized patients with pneumonia and is associated with worsened clinical and economic outcomes. Studies in this large population are needed to explore whether prompt correction of [Na+] may impact these outcomes.