Preface

 Welcome to *Fluid and Electrolyte Disorders*. This book is intended to offer an up-to-date clinical text for medical residents, fellows, practicing physicians, and nephrologists in a simple and easy-to-understandformat.-Fluidandelectrolytedisordersarefrequentlyencounteredinclin‐ ical practice. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of these disorders has greatly expanded in recent years. This book aims to discuss the current evidence regarding the physiology, basic fundamentals, clinical presentation, and management of these disorders and will help clinicians to manage these disorders effectively. It also aims to bridge the gap between pathophysiology and clinical manifestation of these disorders. All chapters have been extensively revised and bound to include the latest developments in the field.

 I would like to acknowledge the support of Ms. Marijana Francetic throughout the process of publication, and would like to dedicate this book to my father, M.A. Nasir, and my late mother who helped me at every step of my life.

I hope readers will find this open-access text a valuable educational resource.

**Usman Mahmood**  Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service Queensland, Australia

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Fluids and Sodium Imbalance: Clinical Implications**

**Fluids and Sodium Imbalance: Clinical Implications**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.79121

Fluids and electrolytes are basic components of the human body and essential for the survival of most species. Any imbalance can potentially lead to serious conditions and death. The replacement of fluids and electrolytes has been used since the ancient age. Modern medicine still requires certain degree of expertise in these areas, which ranges from simple replacement in patients with mild illness to a more complex management in critically ill or hospitalized patients. Training and education in the evaluation and management of patients with fluids and electrolyte abnormalities are fundamental for patient's outcomes. Severe sodium abnormalities are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and they are markers of poor outcomes. This review presents a concise discussion of frequently asked questions in the evaluation and management of patients

**Keywords:** hypernatremia, hyponatremia, fluids, normal saline, ringer lactate, albumin

The serum sodium (sNa) concentration and thus serum osmolality (sOsm) are closely controlled by water homeostasis, which is mediated by thirst, arginine vasopressin, and the kidneys. A disruption in this delicate balance is manifested as an abnormality in the sNa

Fluid administration is an integral part of the clinician's armamentarium to manage a wide variety of clinical conditions, which range from mild dehydration to more life-threatening

concentration—hyponatremia or hypernatremia and/or hemodynamic instability.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Gilda Diaz-Fuentes, Bharat Bajantri and

with fluids and sodium abnormalities.

Gilda Diaz-Fuentes, Bharat Bajantri and

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79121

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Sindhaghatta Venkatram

Sindhaghatta Venkatram

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

conditions like shock or trauma.
