[Sodium depletion assessed by the urinary sodium/creatinine ratio in monitoring cystic fibrosis patients].

Abstract

As a result of excessive salt loss, cystic fibrosis patients are at risk of dehydration, especially in hot weather. The urinary sodium/creatinine ratio is an easy and noninvasive tool for assessing whether dietary salt intake is adequate, whatever the patient's age. Recently, new reference values have been established, adapted to the patient's age. The objectives of this study are to investigate the impact of these new standards on the diagnosis of inadequate sodium intake and the variation in this ratio as a function of body mass index (BMI), outdoor temperature and the use of modulator therapy of CFTR protein. The present study included 40 patients and 335 urine samples. Adapting the urinary sodium/creatinine ratio with the new reference values reduced the number of patients with sodium deficiency by 11.8%. However, there were no significant differences in BMI, lung function or outdoor temperature between the sodium deficient and non-deficient groups. The CFTR modulator-treated group had a better mean urinary sodium/creatinine ratio compared with the group without modulators (p = 0.01), However, larger-scale studies are needed to provide a definitive answer to this question.