Conivaptan and an initial study shows that it has some promise. Conivaptan is most commonly used in the hospital in cases of euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia, conditions where the sodium level in the blood falls significantly below normal. In the United States hyponatremia affects about four percent of hospitalized patients. Although many patients do not show symptoms, extreme cases may result in brain swelling, respiratory arrest and even death. Hypervolemic hyponatremia specifically is when the body’s serum sodium levels fall below the total body water increase, which results in edema. This is associated with congestive heart failure, liver disease and kidney
Serum chloride Serum chloride Chloride is an anion in the human body needed for metabolism (the process of turning food into energy). It also helps keep the body's acid-base balance. The amount of serum chloride is carefully controlled by the kidneys. Chloride ions have important physiological roles. For instance, in the central nervous system, the inhibitory action of glycine and some of the action of GABA relies on the entry of Cl into specific neurons. Also, the chloride-bicarbonate exchanger biological transport protein relies on the chloride ion to increase the blood's capacity of carbon dioxide, in the form of the bicarbonate ion;