1. Management of Hyponatremia in the ICU
Richard H. Sterns, MD, John K. Hix, MD, Stephen M. Silver, MD 
CHEST 
Volume 144, Issue 2, Pages (August 2013)
DOI: /chest
Copyright © 2013 The American College of Chest Physicians Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Desalination phenomenon. When vasopressin levels are high, infusion of isotonic saline can paradoxically cause a fall in serum sodium, a phenomenon known as “desalination.” The sodium delivered by 2 L isotonic saline (0.9% sodium chloride), each containing 154 mEq of sodium, are excreted in 1 L of hypertonic urine, having a sodium concentration of 308 mEq/L. The net effect is desalination of one of the liters of isotonic saline and, therefore, retention of 1 L of electrolyte-free water by the body.
CHEST  , DOI: ( /chest )
Copyright © 2013 The American College of Chest Physicians Terms and Conditions