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Electrolyte imbalance, or water-electrolyte imbalance, is an abnormality in the concentration of electrolytes in the body. Electrolytes play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis in the body. They help to regulate heart and neurological function, fluid balance , oxygen delivery , acid–base balance and much more.
Intracellular movement of electrolytes occurs along with a fall in the serum electrolytes, including phosphate and magnesium. Levels of serum glucose may rise, and B 1 vitamin ( thiamine ) may fall. Abnormal heart rhythms are the most common cause of death from refeeding syndrome, with other significant risks including confusion, coma and ...
Profuse sweating can increase the need for electrolyte replacement. Water-electrolyte imbalance produces headache and fatigue if mild; illness if moderate, and sometimes even death if severe. For example, water intoxication (which results in hyponatremia), the process of consuming too much water too quickly, can be fatal.
The electrolytes measured most often are sodium and potassium. Chloride levels are rarely measured except for arterial blood gas interpretations since they are inherently linked to sodium levels. One important test conducted on urine is the specific gravity test to determine the occurrence of an electrolyte imbalance. [citation needed]
Hypokalemia; Other names: Hypokalaemia, hypopotassaemia, hypopotassemia: An ECG in a person with a potassium level of 1.1 meq/L showing the classical changes of ST segment depression, inverted T waves, large U waves, and a slightly prolonged PR interval.
Oral rehydration therapy was developed in the 1940s using electrolyte solutions with or without glucose on an empirical basis chiefly for mild or convalescent patients, but did not come into common use for rehydration and maintenance therapy until after the discovery that glucose promoted sodium and water absorption during cholera in the 1960s. [6]
Also important in pH regulation. It is an important electrolyte in the form of phosphate. [72] Food sources include cheese, egg yolk, milk, meat, fish, poultry, whole-grain cereals, and many others. [69] Potassium, an electrolyte (heart and nerve function). With sodium, potassium is involved in maintaining normal water balance, osmotic ...
Diarrhea can cause electrolyte imbalances, kidney impairment, dehydration, and defective immune system responses. When oral drugs are administered, the efficiency of the drug is to produce a therapeutic effect and the lack of this effect may be due to the medication travelling too quickly through the digestive system, limiting the time that it ...