Hyponatremia Essay

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When diagnosed with hyponatremia treatment usually immediately begins. Treatment must be a restriction of both salt and water (Gheorghita et. al 2010). Hyponatremic patients must receive a slow increase in sodium with a restriction of liquids. Intravenous hypertonic saline solution of 3% NaCl can be administered to patients who have been diagnosed with hyponatremia. There is a precise formula that is used in determining the quantity of NaCl that is used in increasing sodemia and the rate at which it should be administered (Gheorghita et. al 2010). Hyponatremia treatment that occurs too rapidly is associated with the formation of demyelinating lesions in the pons known as CPM. These lesions lead to permanent neurological damage (Gheorghita et. al 2010). Physicians and patients should not fail to treat severe hyponatremia in an effort to avoid CPM development. Failure to treat hyponatremia may lead to severe brain damage, coma, or even death (Schuster et. al 2009 and Gheorghita et. al 2010). Symptoms of CPM have been seen to improve with time which plays the most critical role. Even treating hyponatremia with a hypertonic saline solution still raises the most important risk of developing CPM but a good neurological outcome has been seen in several cases when enough time and one of the above therapies are done. Campos and colleagues believed that there is no cure or treatment for CPM nor is there any definitive therapy (Campos et al. 2011). However, there are medications and even vitamins that have been supportive treatments for patients with CPM. The supportive treatments include cortical hormone vitamins and even serum replacement but their exact roles remain unknown. Less than a year after determining that there was no cure or... ... middle of paper ... ...be beneficial it must occur as early as possible after extensive hyponatremia correction (Kengne et. al 2009). Prevention (change heading or take out???) Since there is no definitive cure or treatment for CPM, the best measures to take are preventative. To prevent development of severe neurological lesions associated with CPM sudden changes in the serum sodium levels should be avoided and instead slow correction of hyponatremia should be favored. Immunosuppressive agents’ concentrations should be controlled carefully in order to prevent neurotoxicity in all individuals. When a patient undergoes a LT bleeding during the surgery should be kept to the minimum to reduce the risk of electrolyte fluctuations. When a LT must be done the best effort to avoid CPM is performing the transplant at the earliest stage possible of the hepatic disease (Campos et. al 2011).

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