TY - JOUR AU - Naveed, Muhammad AU - Azam Khan, Malik Nadeem AU - Shah, Syed Umer AU - Hussain, Altaf AU - Khan, Muhammad Shahid AU - Hussain, Muhammad Zahid PY - 2023/02/22 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Electrolyte Imbalance Pattern in Hospitalized Unconscious Patients JF - Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal JA - PAFMJ VL - 73 IS - 1 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.51253/pafmj.v73i1.4548 UR - https://pafmj.org/PAFMJ/article/view/4548 SP - 59-61 AB - <p><strong>Objective:</strong> To determine the pattern of electrolyte imbalance and associated etiological factors among the unconscious patients hospitalized at Pak Emirates Military Hospital.</p><p><strong>Study Design:</strong> Cross-sectional study</p><p><strong>Place and Duration of Study:</strong> Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan from Sep 2019 to Feb 2020</p><p><strong>Methodology:</strong> A total of 240 cases were included in this study in liaison with other departments where the admitted patients became unconscious. Patients with a Glasgow coma scale score &lt;10 were included in the study. Serum electrolytes, including Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium and Chloride, were measured in the study participants. </p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Mean age of study participants was 49.10±7.55 years. One hundred and sixty-two (67.5%) patients were from Medicine -Allied Wards while 78(32.5%) patients were from Surgical-Allied Wards. Thirty-eight patients were from the Critical Care Unit. Mean serum sodium was 139.10±11.52 meq/L, while potassium was 4.60±1.06 meq/L. Mean chloride was 809.4±53.55 meq/L, and Magnesium was 1.40±1.05) meq/L. Our analysis revealed that advanced age, underlying medical illness and duration of hospitalization were strongly linked with electrolyte imbalance among the unconscious patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Electrolyte imbalance emerged as a common finding in the unconscious patients hospitalized in our tertiary care unit. Patients with advancing age, medical illnesses and long hospitalization should be screened for electrolyte wasting a priority to prevent them from going unconscious.</p> ER -