Disorders of water imbalance.

Disorders of water imbalance manifest as hyponatremia and hypernatremia. To diagnose these disorders, emergency physicians must maintain a high index of suspicion, especially in the high-risk patient, because clinical presentations may be nonspecific. With severe water imbalance, inappropriate fluid resuscitation in the emergency department may have devastating neurological consequences. The rate of serum sodium concentration correction should be monitored closely to avoid osmotic demyelination syndrome in hyponatremic patients and cerebral edema in hypernatremic patients.