Outcomes Related to Electrolyte Imbalance in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy; an Observational Study Focusing on Cancer Patients

Abstract

Objectives: Multiple studies are conducted to establish the frequency of electrolyte imbalance outside Pakistan but there is little data available locally. This study was therefore intended to assess the electrolyte imbalance in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy which can help to reduce the morbidity related to electrolyte imbalance by replacing them appropriately. Methodology: An observational study using non-probability convenient sampling technique was conducted for a year from April 2016 to March 2017 at the Oncology Department of Jinnah Post graduate Medical Center, Karachi after taking the ethical approval from the hospital’s Ethical Review Committee. An informed consent was taken from a total of 256 cases diagnosed with various cancers and on an ongoing chemotherapeutic regimen before including them in the study. Age, height, weight, gender, body surface area, type of cancer, chemotherapy protocol, number of days on chemotherapy, electrolyte levels before and after therapy were the variables included. Data was analyzed using the SPSS 20 version. Descriptive statistics of demographic variables was presented as mean, standard deviation and frequency in percentages. Results: 256 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 43.21±12.85 years. 52.7% of the patients showed a reduction in the level of sodium after treatment, followed by 52.2% of the patients showing a reduction in the level of potassium after treatment. 14.8% of the patients presented with reduced chloride levels, with 84.4% of the patients maintaining normal chloride levels before and after treatment. Furthermore, 87.1% of the patients, maintained normal magnesium levels, with 2.7% of the patients presenting with increased magnesium levels after therapy. Conclusion: Our study predicted the significant reduction in the sodium and potassium levels in cancer patients on chemotherapeutic agents. However most of the patients maintained the normal levels of chloride and magnesium.