Frequency of terlipressin induced hyponatremia in patients of variceal bleeding

Aim: to determine frequency of terlipressin induced hyponatremia in pts with acute variceal bleeding. methods: a total of 139 patients with acute variceal bleeding of age 20-60 years and both genders were included. patients with renal failure,hepatocellular carcinoma and hypersensitivity to terlipressin were excluded. after initial resuscitative measures,terlipressin therapy was started in each patient at a dose of 2 mg every 4 hours for the first 24 hours,and then 1mg every 4 hours for up to 3 days. during terlipressin therapy,serum sodium levels were monitored and checked twice a day for any reduction in serum sodium levels >10meq/l from baseline and final outcome was noted at the end of 3rd day. results: terlipressin induced hyponatremia was found in 56(40.3%) patients,whereas there was no hyponatremia in 83(59.7%) patients. conclusion: frequency of terlipressin induced hyponatremia in patients with acute variceal bleeding is very high(40.3%),so regular monitoring of serum sodium levels should be done during terlipressin therapy.