The correlation between serum sodium level and the disease stage and complications in liver cirrhosis

Abstract EN

Hyponatremia is a common finding in patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to an abnormal regulation of body fluid homeostasis.

Most prognostic scores including Child–Pugh score rely on a limited number of variables, which were put together empirically.

Aim: To evaluate the level of serum sodium in liver cirrhosis in its different disease stages and complications and the possible of adding its vale to Child-Pugh score to improve it.

Patients andMethods: 190 patients; 100 males and 90 females; with liver cirrhosis admitted to Qena university hospital were included.

Patients were classified according to Child-Pugh score into three groups; class A, B and C.

Presence of different complications including hepatic dysfunction and portal hypertension were detected.

Serum sodium level was measured for all patients.

Its correlations with different disease stages ad complications were statistically analyzed.

Results: Serum sodium level was decreased significantly from child A to B to C (P value = 0.02 between groups).

Patients with massive ascites showed statistically lower level than those with mild and moderate ascites (P value= 0.00 between groups) but there was no difference between patients with and without spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Sodium level decreased significantly in patients with hepatic encephalopathy grade III and IVthan those with grade I, II and those without HE (P value= 0.03 between groups).

No statistically significant difference was found between those with absence, small and large esophageal varices.

Positive correlation was detected between serum sodium level and Child-Pugh score (r = +0.72, P value = 0.02) Conclusion: Serum sodium level decreased significantly with more liver dysfunction, adding its value to Child-Pugh score could improve the score value in assessment of the liver affection.