Hyponatremia to 30% of elderly patients in nursing homes and is also present in approximately 30% of depressed patients on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. People who have hyponatremia who require hospitalisation have a longer length of stay (with associated increased costs) and also have a higher likelihood of requiring readmission. This is particularly the case in men and in the elderly. Hyponatremia Hyponatremia is a low sodium level in the blood. It is generally defined as a sodium concentration of less than 135 mmol/L (135 mEq/L), with severe hyponatremia being below 120 mEq/L. Symptoms can be absent, mild or severe. Mild
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;