Evaluation of Hyponatraemia among Paediatric Patients having Lower Respiratory Tract Infections Visiting a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Serious health risks arise from Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTI). In particular, this infection is very evident in children among less than 5 years of age group, who require hospital admission and sadly contributes to the thirty percent of annual deaths worldwide. Aim: To evaluate the incidence of Hyponatremia in Lower Respiratory Tract Infections among paediatric patients less than five years. Materials and Methods: The prospective study was conducted from January 2019 To February 2020. All patients having quantifiable indications evocative of heightened lower respiratory tract infectivity were assessed in detail at hospital, on Inpatient Department (IPD) basis. Patients having serum sodium value <135 mEq/L were assessed for Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH) with the refrigerated sample of urine and the second serum sample. Estimation of the following parameters was done in these patients-blood urea, blood glucose, urinary sodium, serum creatinine, serum osmolality, urinary creatinine, urinary urea, and urine osmolality. Results: Fifty eight of the total numbers had hyponatremia that ranges to the 38.66% of the total count. Out of these cases, forty nine, comprising a total percentage of 84.4% were due to SIADH. Out of the total 59 hyponatremic cases, four were suggested to have difficulty in the form of seizures followed by altered sensorium that comprise 12.12% of the total figures. Conclusion: Existence of hyponatraemia in LRTIs further increases the morbidity in the affected children in the form of extended hospital stay and incidence of seizure attacks, followed by deranged sensorium, in a number of cases. Hence, children admitted for LRTIs should be assessed not just clinically, but also for their serum levels sodium at the time of hospital admission.