Hyponatremia with sodium less than 120 mEq/L is treated with which therapy?

Hyponatremia with sodium less than 120 mEq/L is treated with which therapy?

• A. 3% hypertonic saline
• B. Water restriction
• C. Normal saline infusion
• D. Furosemide

Answer: (A)

Severe hyponatremia with sodium under 120 mEq/L typically causes brain edema and neurologic symptoms, so the immediate goal is to raise the serum sodium quickly to draw water out of swollen brain cells. A hypertonic solution (3% saline) provides a higher extracellular sodium concentration, creating an osmotic gradient that moves water from inside brain cells to the extracellular space, reducing cerebral edema and rapidly improving symptoms. In practice, you give small boluses of 3% saline (for example, 100 mL IV over 10 minutes) and reassess, repeating as needed until symptoms improve or the sodium rises about 4–6 mEq/L, all while monitoring to avoid overcorrection. Water restriction or normal saline won’t reliably treat severe symptomatic hyponatremia and can be insufficient or risky; furosemide may be used later as an adjunct to promote diuresis in certain hyponatremia types, but it is not the primary treatment for this scenario.

Severe hyponatremia with sodium under 120 mEq/L typically causes brain edema and neurologic symptoms, so the immediate goal is to raise the serum sodium quickly to draw water out of swollen brain cells. A hypertonic solution (3% saline) provides a higher extracellular sodium concentration, creating an osmotic gradient that moves water from inside brain cells to the extracellular space, reducing cerebral edema and rapidly improving symptoms. In practice, you give small boluses of 3% saline (for example, 100 mL IV over 10 minutes) and reassess, repeating as needed until symptoms improve or the sodium rises about 4–6 mEq/L, all while monitoring to avoid overcorrection. Water restriction or normal saline won’t reliably treat severe symptomatic hyponatremia and can be insufficient or risky; furosemide may be used later as an adjunct to promote diuresis in certain hyponatremia types, but it is not the primary treatment for this scenario.