Cerebral salt wasting syndrome in children with acute central nervous system injury.

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the causes, clinical pattern, and treatment of cerebral salt wasting syndrome in children with acute central nervous system injury. This retrospective study focused on patients<or=15 years old diagnosed with cerebral salt wasting syndrome, over a period of 7 years, in the pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital. Selection criteria included evidence of hyponatremia (serum sodium<130 mEq/L), polyuria, elevated urine sodium (>120 mEq/L), and volume depletion. Fourteen patients were identified with cerebral salt wasting syndrome, 12 after a neurosurgical procedure (8 brain tumor, 4 hydrocephalus) and 2 after severe brain trauma. In 11 patients the cerebral salt wasting syndrome was diagnosed during the first 48 hours of admission. Prevalence of cerebral salt wasting syndrome in neurosurgical children was 11.3/1000 surgical procedures. The minimum sodium was 122+/-7 mEq/L, the maximum urine osmolarity 644+/-59 mOsm/kgH2O. The maximum sodium supply was 1 mEq/kg/h (range, 0.1-2.4). The mean duration of cerebral salt wasting syndrome was 6+/-5 days (range 1-9). In conclusion, cerebral salt wasting syndrome can complicate the postoperative course of children with brain injury; it is frequently present after surgery for brain tumors and hydrocephalus and in patients with severe head trauma. Close monitoring of salt and fluid balance is essential to prevent severe neurologic and hemodynamic complications.