Serum Electrolyte Level As A Marker Of Morbidity In Critically Sick Children: A Study From A Rural Tertiary Care Hospital

Objectives- To nd out the association between dyselectrolytemia and morbidity in critically ill children and also to evaluate the association between degree of hyponatremia and morbidity. Material And Methods- Children aged 1 month–12 yrs, admitted in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) were included in the study. This was a hospital based, observational, cross sectional study. Morbidity was dened as PICU stay > 5 days. Results-Total 200 children aged 1 mo-12 yrs were included in the study. Abnormal serum sodium level and abnormal serum potassium levels were signicantly associated with increased hospital stay (p value 0.000). Association between degree of hyponatremia and hospital stay was also signicant. (p value 0.003). Conclusion-Electrolyte abnormalities are common in critically ill children and contribute to signicant morbidity