A Study Evaluating Hyponatremia Utilizing the BVA-100 Is Presented at Annual 2013 Critical Care Congress

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Christiana Medical Center, the largest hospital in Delaware, presented a study on the diagnosis of hyponatremia in critically ill neurologic patients. The authors were Drs. Kathryn Fulda, Timothy Manzone, Gerard Fulda and Frederick Giberson. Blood volume analysis was performed on 293 patients, of which 72 had a neurologic disorder fitting the criteria for the study. Hyponatremia is a condition in which the blood sodium concentration is lowered below normal levels. This may lead to seizures and critical failure of multiple organs. In this study, 51% of the patients were hyponatremic (low sodium), 36% were normal, and 12.5% were hypernatremic (high sodium). Blood volume measurement measures the patient's red cell volume, plasma volume, and total blood volume.

Patients who have cerebral salt wasting (CSW) and hyponatremia typically have decreased blood volume and plasma volume. In contrast, another condition of low serum sodium concentration is called the Inappropriate Diuretic Hormone Syndrome. This condition results from an inappropriate release of vasopressin, a brain hormone, which causes water retention and dilution of the blood sodium. The treatment for cerebral salt wasting is to give patients the opposite treatment, which is to restrict fluid and give medications such as Tolvaptan which blocks the vasopressin hormone, to return the serum sodium to normal.

The study from Christiana shows that the usually physiologic parameters in evaluating these patients were not accurate in identifying correctly which treatment could be used. In the study mentioned above the death rate was 28.6% in patients whose hyponatremia was not corrected compared to 17.9% in patients in whom serum sodium was corrected. Patients with a life threatening condition such as hyponatremia should be treated with a blood volume measurement on a timely basis so optimum treatment can be administered. The authors noted that measurement of the plasma volume was most helpful in correctly categorizing the hyponatremic patients. In the hyponatremic group total blood volume was decreased in 41% of the patients, normal in 38% of the patients, and increased in 21% of the patients.

The President of Daxor, Dr. Joseph Feldschuh, commented that, "This important study is further evidence that patients with hyponatremia, a relatively common condition seen not only in severely injured neurology patients but in multiple other conditions such as congestive heart failure, should have a blood volume measurement performed so they are not incorrectly treated."

The study was supported by grants from NCRR and NIGMS of the National Institutes of Health, and the State of Delaware.

Daxor Corporation manufactures and markets the BVA-100, which is used in conjunction with Volumex, Daxor's single use diagnostic kit. For more information regarding Daxor Corporation's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100, visit Daxor's website at www.Daxor.com.