The American journal of medicine
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Review Case Reports
Osmotic demyelination syndrome following correction of hyponatremia: association with hypokalemia.
The osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) is a neurologic complication associated with rapid correction of hyponatremia. A case is described in which the patient was found to have hypokalemia as well as hyponatremia prior to the development of ODS. The literature was reviewed for cases of ODS in which patients had hyponatremia (serum sodium < or = 126 mmol/L) at presentation followed by correction of the hyponatremia. ⋯ The etiology of this complication is unclear. In neurologically stable patients with severe hyponatremia, it may be beneficial to correct hypokalemia prior to correction of the serum sodium. This maneuver may further reduce the incidence of ODS.