The challenge of recognizing and providing treatment to patients with sodium disorders is driven by the complex relationships between extracellular fluid volume, osmolality, sodium and water. A recent study reported the incidence of hypernatremia of dogs and cats1 (5.7%, 8% respectively) and hyponatremia (25.5% and 49.5%)2. Mortality rates for patients with both sodium disorders, especially hypernatremia (20.6% and 28.1%) were higher than patients with normal values. The increase in fatalities with disorders of sodium mirrors reports from human medicine and confirms the importance of management.
展开▼
