Utility of Hyponatremia as Prognostic Factor of Community Acquired Pneumonia in Children Above Two Years old

Alkholy, Usama Mahmoud; Zidan, Nahla Ibrahem; Awd-Allah Esawy, Noura Ismail; Yousif Hassan, Yousif Mohamed

doi:10.21608/zumj.2025.358245.3831

Utility of Hyponatremia as Prognostic Factor of Community Acquired Pneumonia in Children Above Two Years old

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Professor of Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig university, Egypt

² Assistant professor of Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt

³ Pediatrics of Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt

⁴ Assistant professor of Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig university, Egypt

10.21608/zumj.2025.358245.3831

Abstract

Background: Pneumonia has been one of the commonest causes of morbidity and mortality among children. Among the various complications of pneumonia. Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte imbalance observed in children suffering from pneumonia. The morbidity and mortality rate of pneumonia may increase with hyponatremia. The purpose of the study was to find the frequency of hyponatremia in children aged above 2 years hospitalized with pneumonia and to correlate the hyponatremia with the severity of pneumonia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 116 patients with pneumonia aged between 2 and 15 years who met the WHO criteria of pneumonia. A 2 ml blood sample was extracted from the patient on the day of admission along with routine blood investigations and sent to the lab for measurement of serum sodium and other pertinent parameters. Clinical information and patient outcomes were recorded. Results: There were 44 girls and 72 boys in this study. Hyponatremia was seen in 62.1% of children who had community-acquired pneumonia. The most prevalent type, mild hyponatremia, affected 45.7% of children.87.5% of children with severe pneumonia had hyponatremia (p value<0.001). The median hospital stay for individuals with hyponatremia was more than nine days, which was statistically significant when compared to those without. Conclusion: As a common electrolyte imbalance in community-acquired pneumonia, hyponatremia is more frequently observed in severe cases with increased mortality and longer hospital stays.

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