Abstract:
Introduction: Hyponatremia is a common problem in critically ill children requiring intensive
care unit admission. If left untreated, they cause morbidity and mortality regardless of the
underlying causes. Identification of risk factors of hyponatremia is important in determining
preventive measures.Despite the higher burden of the problem in Ethiopia, evidence related to
hyponatremia among children in Ethiopia is rare; particularly no study has been done in eastern
Ethiopia.
Objective:The general objective was to assess the magnitude of hyponatremia and its associated
factors among children admitted to the Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital
pediatric intensive care unit from January 2019 to December 2022.
Methods: Institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 422 medical
records of pediatric patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit of hiwot fana
comprehensive specialized hospital.A review of medical records was used to collect data. A
binary logistic regression model was used to identify the association between dependent and
independent variables.A significant association was declared at a p-value < 0.05 in the
multivariable logistic regression
Results: The magnitude of hyponatremiawas 165 (39.1%)with (95% CL:34.4-43.80). age of the
child (AOR=2.37;95% CL:1.31-4.31), diagnosed with sepsis (AOR=2.33; 95% CL:1.41-3.84), a
child with a surgical procedure(AOR=2.39; 95% CL:1.26-4.56), nutritional status measured by
MUAC (AOR=2.60; 95% CL:1.51-4.49), and length of the hospital (AOR=3.04; 95% CL:1.73-
5.33)were the factors significantly associated withhyponatremia.
Conclusion: Four in ten children admitted tointensive care units suffer from hyponatremia.
Hyponatremia was significantly associated with child age, malnutrition, sepsis, surgical
procedure, anda longer length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit. Early diagnosis and
treatment of hyponatremia can reduce disease morbidity and hospitalization time.Early diagnosis
and proper treatment of common illnesses may help in preventing malnutrition
