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Webinar




Hospital-Acquired Acute Hyponatremia: Prevention is Key

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 1 pm EST

ISMP Canada is very pleased to have Dr. Michael L. Moritz, a pediatric nephrologist, renowned expert and researcher, speak about preventing hospital–acquired hyponatremia in children.

This one hour webinar will focus on an overview of information from the literature, including review of incidents involving harm and death of pediatric patients from hospital–acquired hyponatremia. Dr. Moritz will provide valuable information and insights into how practitioners can lessen the possibility that patients they care for will be harmed by hospital–acquired hyponatremia.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be aware of:

  • the literature related to hospital–acquired hyponatremia in children including current theories and research;
  • risk factors for the development of hospital–acquired hyponatremia in children;
  • the signs and symptoms of hyponatremia encephalopathy;
  • strategies to prevent hospital–acquired hyponatremia in children.


Audience: Nurses, physicians, pharmacists providing care to pediatric patients; clinical directors, quality/risk managers and others who provide oversight of pediatric patient care.

Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am PT
11:00 am - 12:00 am MT
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CT
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm AT
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm NT

Duration: 1 hour

Cost: $95.00 (plus applicable taxes) per telephone connection
For registration information, please select the ‘Registration’ tab.

Presenter: Michael L. Moritz, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Clinical Director, Division of Nephrology
Medical Director, Pediatric Dialysis
Department of Pediatrics
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Contact Us: webinars@ismp-canada.org


Speaker

 

Michael L. Moritz, MD

Dr. Moritz completed his medical school and residency at the University Of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine. He completed his fellowship in pediatric nephrology at Texas Children‘s Hospital and from there he moved on to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he was medical director of the pediatric dialysis unit. He joined the Children‘s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) faculty in 1999 where he is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, the Medical Director of Pediatric Dialysis and was recently appointed Clinical Director of the Division of Nephrology, Dr. Moritz has been recognized for his outstanding clinical work, teaching and research. He has the faculty teaching award at both the University of Chicago and Children‘s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and also was a recipient of the ACES award for outstanding clinical faculty at Children‘s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Dr. Moritz has also been elected to the Society for Pediatric Research.

Dr. Moritz’s primary research interests are in sodium and water metabolism in children. He has done seminal work in the field, pointing out the dangers of using hypotonic fluids in hospitalized children as it has resulted in numerous cases of iatrogenic death or permanent neurological injury. Dr. Moritz was the first to recommend the use of 0.9% sodium chloride in maintenance fluids in hospitalized children as prophylaxis against developing hospital acquired hyponatremia. He has been the primary advocate in this field, writing many review articles, editorials, and letters to the editor in order to increase awareness of this serious problem. Dr. Moritz is also an expert in the epidemiology and treatment of hypernatremia in children.


Background

Reports of pediatric deaths due to acute hyponatremia have been reported in Canada and internationally. For example, two pediatric deaths due to acute hyponatremia associated with intravenous (IV) administration of hypotonic solutions, one in a post–surgical setting and the other in a medical setting, were voluntarily reported to ISMP Canada and shared in a 2009 Safety Bulletin. ISMP (US) also shared two different reports of pediatric deaths and some of the underlying causes in a 2009 newsletter.

Hospital–acquired hyponatremia is an important issue that merits attention. Hospitalized children have multiple risk factors that can predispose them to the retention of free water and development of acute hyponatremia. Acute hyponatremia is defined as a decline in serum sodium within a 48–hour period to less than 130 mmol/L. This abrupt change can lead to cerebral edema as a result of electrolyte–free water moving into brain cells. Acute hyponatremia can be fatal for both children and adults; however, children are more vulnerable to the effects of fluid and electrolyte imbalance. The early signs of acute hyponatremia and rising intracranial pressure are often nonspecific and include nausea, vomiting, headache, and decreasing level of consciousness. A rapid decline in serum levels of sodium leading to symptoms of increased intracranial pressure is a medical emergency, as further increases in brain–cell swelling can cause seizures, respiratory depression, coma, irreversible brain damage, or brain herniation and death.

Related Links:

ISMP Canada Safety Bulletin:


ISMP (United States) Medication Safety Alert:
Additional references and resources, hospital policies, procedures, and guidelines and literature/information

Contact Information

Mail:
4711 Yonge Street, Suite 501
Toronto, ON M2N 6K8
Email:
webinars@ismp-canada.org
Phone:
416-733-3131 ext. 236
Toll Free:
1-866-544-7672 ext. 236
Fax:
416-733-1146