Electrolyte abnormalities in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Background: Electrolyte abnormalities have been observed in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 Whether the prevalence of electrolyte disturbances differ between hospitalized patients with and without COVID-19 is unknown Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study of adult patients hospitalized in a large tertiary healthcare system in the Bronx between March 11-April 26, 2020 We compared the prevalence of the disturbances in sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium between patients with and without COVID-19 using Chi-square Electrolyte disturbances were defined as the following: hypernatremia (>145 mEq/L), hyponatremia (5 mmol/L), hypokalemia (2 5 mEq/L), hypomagnesemia (<1 5 mEq/L), hypocalcemia (<8 5 mg/dL) and hypoalbuminemia (<3 5 g/dL) Results: Of 4579 patients, 51 8% were male Median age was 65 years, IQR (52-76) 3313 (72 3%) were positive for the COVID-19 Hypernatremia, hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, hypermagnesemia, hypocalcemia, and hypoalbuminemia were significantly more common in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (p<0 0001) Conclusions: Dysnatremias, hyperkalemia, and hypermagnesemia were more common in patients with COVID-19 Hypocalcemia was more common in patients with COVID-19 but this may be due to a higher prevalence of hypoalbuminemia Further studies are needed looking at adjusted models to describe the association between electrolyte abnormalities and clinical outcomes