Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
 

See our updated masking policy »

Stanford Health Care

IATROGENIC HYPONATREMIA - A CAUSE OF DEATH FOLLOWING PEDIATRIC TONSILLECTOMY INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY MCRAE, R. G., WEISSBURG, A. J., Chang, K. W. 1994; 30 (3): 227-232

Abstract

Death following pediatric tonsillectomy is very rare. If deaths occur, they are most commonly due to bleeding or aspiration. In this presentation, we would like to illustrate another potentially lethal complication following the pediatric tonsillectomy, iatrogenic hyponatremia. We have encountered 3 patients who have developed post-operative hyponatremia. This has resulted in 2 deaths. The third patient was successfully treated and developed no permanent sequela. We will discuss the etiology and pathophysiology of post-operative hyponatremia including guidelines for administering fluid and electrolytes intra-operatively and post-operatively. We expect that fatal post-operative hyponatremia can be avoided in the pediatric tonsillectomy patients.

View details for Web of Science ID A1994PR62600007

View details for PubMedID 7836036