• David C Pearson and Forbes McGain.
• Intensive Care Unit, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. david_pearson@health.qld.gov.au.
• Crit Care Resusc. 2014 Jun 1;16(2):140-2.

ObjectiveTo examine self-reported treatment preferences among Australasian consultant intensivists for intensive care-acquired hypernatraemia (IAH).Design And SettingWe used a web-based survey with 10 questions about the management of IAH.Main Outcome MeasuresWe measured number of respondents and response rate, IAH treatment methods, thresholds and the reasons for these.ResultsThere were 156 survey respondents, of whom 137 were consultant intensivists, representing a response rate of 31%. Ninety-three percent of responding clinicians (95% CI, 87%-96%) used intravenous fluid (49%; 95% CI, 40%-57%) or enteral nutrition changes (44%; 95% CI, 36%-53%) as their first choice of treatment. As alternative therapies, respondents reported using thiazides (22%; 95% CI, 16%-30%), aldosterone antagonists (20%; 95% CI, 14%-28%) and renal replacement therapy (14%; 95% CI, 9%-21%) less commonly.ConclusionsThere is a wide variety of treatments in use for IAH. Most clinicians initiate treatment at a level greater than the level that is independently associated with increased mortality in the literature.1 Initial treatment is equally divided between changes in intravenous fluid and changes in enteral nutrition.

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