The relation between the incidence of hypernatremia and mortality in patients with severe traumatic brain injury

Introduction The study was aimed at verifying whether the occurrence of hypernatremia during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay increases the risk of death in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). We performed a retrospective study on a prospectively collected database including all patients consecutively admitted over a 3-year period with a diagnosis of TBI (post-resuscitation Glasgow Coma Score ≤ 8) to a general/neurotrauma ICU of a university hospital, providing critical care services in a catchment area of about 1,200,000 inhabitants. Methods Demographic, clinical, and ICU laboratory data were prospectively collected; serum sodium was assessed an average of three times per …