Management of acute symptomatic hyponatremia.

EDITOR, - During transurethral resection of the prostate intravascular absorption of urological irrigation fluid (1.5% glycine) may reduce the serum sodium concentration to <115 mmol/1 in under 15 minutes (a reduction of more than 80 mmol/l/h), and patients may need inotropic support or ventilation, or both (transurethral resection syndrome). Alan Arieff has suggested that such hyponatraemia should be corrected at rates of only 1-2 (SD 1.7) mmol/1/h,1 even though he has stated that the rate of correction …