PD1071 - PREVALENCE OF ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCES IN CRITICALLY ILL AND SURGICAL PATIENTS INITIATING PARENTERAL NUTRITION AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN PARAGUAY

PD1071

PREVALENCE OF ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCES IN CRITICALLY ILL AND SURGICAL PATIENTS INITIATING PARENTERAL NUTRITION AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN PARAGUAY

M. GOIBURU^1,*, N. FERNANDEZ², B. FIGUEREDO³

¹NUTRICION PARENTERAL, ²CLINICA MÉDICA, ³CUIDADOS INTENSIVOS, HOSPITAL DE CLÍNICAS, ASUNCION, Paraguay

Rationale: Parenteral nutrition (PN) is an essential support for patients unable to meet nutritional requirements through oral or enteral routes. Careful monitoring at initiation is necessary to identify and correct electrolyte imbalances.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted including adult patients who received PN (commercial, compounded, or standardized) in the Surgical and Adult Intensive Care Departments of Hospital de Clínicas between January 2024 and June 2025. Electrolyte levels at PN initiation were assessed by measuring serum sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and total calcium. Patients with pre-existing imbalances were not excluded. Demographic, clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Seventy-three patients were included, with a mean age of 60.7 years and a predominance of males. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.1 kg/m². Hypertension was the most common comorbidity. The prevalence of electrolyte imbalances at PN initiation was 93.7%, remaining consistent across comorbidities and PN types. Commercial PN formulations were most frequently used. The mean duration of PN was 10.9 days. The most frequent imbalances were hypokalemia (53.4%), hypocalcemia (54.5%, not corrected for albumin), hypophosphatemia (42.0%), hypomagnesemia (40.3%), hyponatremia (23.3%), and hypernatremia (30.1%).

Conclusion: A high prevalence of electrolyte imbalances was observed at PN initiation, predominantly in older male patients with overweight. Potassium, phosphorus, and total calcium disturbances were most common. These findings highlight the need for systematic electrolyte assessment to enable early identification and correction of imbalances in patients starting PN.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared