Management of Electrolyte Abnormalities in the Emergency Department

The objective of this article review is to discuss standard treatment options and review emerging therapies for the more common electrolyte abnormalities. The number of emergency departments (ED) in the United States has declined over the past 15 years, which has created overcrowding. This makes it more difficult to prioritize patients based on severity. The importance of this topic is to assist providers in taking quick action on patients presenting with critical electrolyte levels in busy EDs. A literature search using PubMed from 2019 to 2024 identified numerous articles that supported the purpose. This review will discuss the various electrolyte disorders and the treatment commonly seen within the first few hours in the emergency department (ED). The implications of this research show that standard treatments are consistent among numerous authors. Providers will likely find the same protocols in most facilities and the patients can expect to be treated relatively the same despite hospital location. Future research should involve treatments without intravenous crystalloids due to manufacturing shortages, additional medications to shift or excrete electrolytes, and action plans to prevent patients from repeated visits for the same electrolyte disturbances. The lack of availability of the new potassium binders at EDs due to increased cost may also be researched.