Serum electrolytes in hospitalized pellagra alcoholics

Background: Owing to high diarrhoea and protein malnutrition frequencies in pellagra, we hypothesised that pellagra patients would have higher electro lyte disturbances than non-pellagra alcoholics. Objective: To compare serum electrolytes of hospitalised alcoholics with or without pellagra. Design: Retrospective and descriptive case-control study. Setting: Internal Medicine wards at a University Hospital, Medical School o f Uberaba, Brazil. Subjects: Medical records were reviewed to obtain relevant clinical details , main diagnosis and laboratory data, including serum electrolytes on hospi tal admission of pellagra patients (n = 33) and a randomly chosen control g roup of alcoholics (n = 37), matched in age, gender and socio-economic stat us. Anaemia was ascertained by haemoglobin < 12.5 g/dl (men) and 1.5 g/dl ( women), and hypoalbuminemia by serum albumin < 3.3 g/dl. Results: Pellagra and controls showed similar age (39.4 +/- 13.1 vs 45.0 +/ - 11.4 years) and a male predominance of gender (69.7 vs 78.4%), and simila r associated diagnoses, including high blood pressure (21.2 vs 16.2%), peri pheral neuropathy (12.1 vs 13.5%), and pneumonia (9.1 vs 13.5%). Despite di splaying similar serum sodium (136.6 +/- 6.1 vs 137.8 +/- 5.7 mEQ/I), magne sium (1.72 +/- 0.74 vs 1.62 +/- 0.34 mg/dl), phosphorus (3.79 +/- 0.87 vs 3 .87 +/- 0.78 mEq/I) than controls,in addition to higher hypoalbuminemia (76 .2 vs 33%) and anaemia (60.6 vs 35.1%) frequencies. Conclusions: Higher anaemia and hypoalbuminemia frequencies associated with lower serum potassium levels suggest increased protein malnutrition preval ence among pellagrins.