title: Impact of iatrogenic, excessive, nondietary sodium administration in patients with acute heart failure exacerbation on hospital length of stay.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the sources and quantities of nondietary sodium administration in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure exacerbation, and to evaluate the impact of sodium administration on length of stay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  University-affiliated medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and eighty-two consecutive patients admitted to a cardiac intensive care unit for acute heart failure exacerbation between January 1 and June 30, 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drug therapy profiles of all patients were reviewed for sources and quantities of nondietary sodium administration, and the impact of sodium administration on hospital stay was analyzed. The mean ± SD nondietary sodium load was 4.0 ± 5.0 g/day. The predominant sources of sodium were intravenous 0.9% or 0.45% sodium chloride. The daily amount of sodium administration was directly related to the duration of hospital stay, with an average sodium load of 1.2 g/day correlating with hospital stays of up to 5 days, and an average of 2.6 g/day correlating with hospital stays of up to 10 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed excessive sodium administration in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of heart failure. We speculate that reducing sodium administration in these patents may reduce length of hospital stay and cost of hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA. jtafreshi@llu.edu
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tafreshi
authors.forename: Thu M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.forename: Tomik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grigorian
authors.forename: Ajit D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: Ali R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Tafreshi
authors.forename: Ramdas G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012964:Sodium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012964:Sodium