SODIUM AND CALCIUM LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER AND ITS CORRELATION WITH HEPATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY

Introduction: Patients with chronic liver disease have a specific susceptibility to an electrolyte imbalance that can deteriorate their condition to hepatic encephalopathy. It occursin about 57% of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Hyponatremia in cirrhosis is an in dependent risk factor for mortality and is common in patients with end-stage liver disease. These patients had a significantly higher incidence of hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Hepatic encephalopathy is worsened by the presence of hyponatremia and hypocalcemia. Aim:The aim of this study is to evaluate sodium and calcium levels in CLD patients and its correlation with hepatic encephalopathy. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in SMHS Hospital,Govt.Medical College Srinagar, Jammu Kashmir,India, during a three-year period. 150 patients with chronic liver disease admitted to the general medicine and gastroenterology department were included. Data was entered in SPSS software version 20. Qualitative data were analyzed using chi-square, and quantitative data were analyzed using independent t-tests. A P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Our study on 150 CLD patients showed that the serum sodium level and serum calcium level were significantly lower in patients with hepatic encephalopathy with P-Values of 0.0006 and 0.002, respectively. Conclusion: It seems that reducing serum sodium and calcium level can be predictive of hepatic encephalopathy inpatients with chronic liver disease.