
Investigation and comparison of electrolyte imbalances in covid 19 patients hospitalized in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital of Yazd in two periods of three months in 2021 and 2022.
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini 1 © ℗, Zohreh Akhoundi Meybodi 2, Farid Velayatimoghadam 1, Danial Dehghani Firouzabadi 1
Abstract
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a heightened risk of kidney and digestive system complications, including fluid and electrolyte disorders, with prevalent imbalances such as hyponatremia, hypernatremia, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, and hypochloremia in infected patients. This study aims to investigate and compare these electrolyte imbalances in COVID-19 patients admitted to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital of Yazd. Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated and compared electrolyte abnormalities in patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd in two three-month periods: from October to December 2021 (including the peak of the British Corona virus) and from April to June 2022 (the peak of the delta virus). The required information includes age, sex, discharge status (improvement of symptoms or death), number of days of hospitalization, transfer to the intensive care unit, and electrolyte tests of the patient (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Alb, FBS, and P) were collected and finally analyzed by SPSS software version 26. Results: In 2020, a total of 200 samples were collected, composed of 120 males (60%) and 80 females (40%). The following year, 2021, saw the examination of 202 samples, with 107 males (53%) and 95 females (47%). The mortality rate for 2020 was 4.6%, but it decreased to 3% in 2021. The average age of patients was 49.2 ±18.2 in 2020 and 45.56 ±15.23 in 2021. Hospitalization time also differed, being 5.65 days in 2020 and 5.02 days in 2021. The T-Test demonstrated a significant difference with a p-value of 0.002. The Delta variant of COVID-19 significantly impacted electrolyte disorders among patients. Hyponatremia, a sodium electrolyte disorder, increased from 18% in 2020 to 32.8% in 2021. No notable distinction was observed in potassium electrolyte disruptions. However, hypophosphatemia prevalence rose to 82.6% in 2021, contrasting the 45.6% in 2020. Both years exhibited an increased prevalence of calcium electrolyte disturbances, particularly hypocalcemia. Conversely, the prevalence of albumin disturbance, notably hypoalbuminemia, decreased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020. Furthermore, electrolyte disorders including hyponatremia, hypophosphatemia, hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, and hypoalbuminemia were more frequent in English coronavirus cases, while Corona Delta displayed higher average blood sugar levels. Conclusion and discussion: The study found that hospitalization time during the English Corona peak was higher than during the Delta Corona peak, but the mortality rate did not significantly differ, although it was higher during the English Corona peak. This is likely due to vaccination, which has reduced hospitalization time and mortality. The study also highlighted the laboratory findings' patterns in the two COVID-19 peaks, which can be crucial in assessing and predicting patients' conditions.
Keywords: Covid-19, electrolyte imbalances, hospitalized patients, Hyponatremia, Hypokalemia