Effect of Environmental Temperature on Serum Sodium Level in Hospitalized Non-critically Ill Children.

Background: Intravenous hypotonic fluid administered in children is associated with an increased risk of developing hyponatremia. This finding has been reported from temperate countries where climate is relatively cold. But whether this risk also occurs in tropical countries has not been elucidated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between environmental temperature and serum sodium in non-critically ill children.

Methods: A retrospective study.

Results: A total of 1061 hospitalized children were enrolled. Incidences of hyponatremia were not different between patients who received isotonic and hypotonic fluids (29% vs. 31%). Subgroup analysis showed a trend of higher incidence of hyponatremia in patients who received hypotonic fluid than isotonic fluid only in patients admitted to the air-conditioned wards (29% vs. 21%, p = 0.08).

Conclusion: Children admitted to the air-conditioned wards who received hypotonic fluid seemed to carry a higher risk of developing hyponatremia than those admitted to the non-air-conditioned ward.