Serum Electrolyte Profile in Subjects Admitted with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects 6-10% of the adult population and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality responsible for 5.1% of all deaths worldwide. It is important to identify factors associated with acute exacerbation of COPD and poor outcome among exacerbation cases. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of General Medicine, Krishna Rajendra Hospital, Mysore. It was a cross-sectional study done till adequate sample size patients were enrolled. Permission from the Institutional Ethical Committee was obtained for the proposed study. The study included 100 COPD patients and 100 healthy controls. Results: In our study, we found that there was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) between serum levels of sodium in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD (131.7 +/- 5.07 mEq/L) as compared to healthy controls (138.66 +/- 3.83 mEq/L). Furthermore, serum potassium levels in COPD exacerbation cases (3.31 +/- 0.33 mEq/L) was significantly low (P < 0.001) as compared to that of controls (3.87 +/- 0.36 mEq/L). Conclusion: Serum electrolyte levels were significantly low among patients of acute exacerbation of COPD. Hence screening for these abnormalities may improve outcome.