title: Mechanisms of improvement of water and sodium excretion by immersion in decompensated cirrhotic patients.
abstract: Eight patients with alcoholic liver disease, ascites, and edema were found to have impaired water (36 +/- 6% in 5 hr) and sodium (3.9 +/- 1.1 mEq/5 hr) excretion during a 20 ml/kg water load. These patients were submitted to a 5-hr head-out water immersion (HWI) with hemodynamic monitoring (Swan-Ganz). HWI increased cardiac index (3.3 to 4.2 liters/min/m2), right atrial pressure (RAP, 3.9 to 9.0 mm Hg), and wedge capillary pulmonary pressure (9.8 to 15.4 mm Hg) (all P less than 0.01). HWI decreased plasma renin activity (6.4 to 4.5 ng/ml/hr, P less than 0.001), aldosterone (73 to 43 ng/dl, P less than 0.001), arginine vasopressin (AVP, 1.03 +/- 0.15 to 0.76 +/- 0.08 pg/ml, P less than 0.005), norepinephrine (NE, 584 to 435 pg/ml, P less than 0.001) and increased the percentage of water load excreted (36 to 63%, P less than 0.005) and urinary sodium excretion (3.9 to 9.7 mEq/5 hr, P less than 0.05). The percentage of water load excreted was inversely correlated to AVP levels (r = 0.52, P less than 0.05) and directly correlated to RAP (r = 0.74, P less than 0.05). A significant positive correlation was also found between the increase in fractional excretion of sodium (delta FENa) and the increase in RAP (r = 0.77, P less than 0.001). FENa also correlated inversely with NE levels (r = 0.56, P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001810:Blood Volume; D002302:Cardiac Output; D004231:Diuresis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009318:Natriuresis; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D011311:Pressoreceptors / Q000503:physiopathology; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System; D013318:Stroke Volume; D014655:Vascular Resistance
chemical_list: D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D009638:Norepinephrine