Quantification of nonosmotic sodium storage capacity following acute hypertonic saline infusion in healthy individuals

The assumption that sodium accumulation in the human body is always accompanied by water retention has been challenged by data showing that sodium can be stored nonosmotically. Here we investigated the contribution of nonosmotic sodium storage to short-term sodium homeostasis after hypertonic saline infusion in healthy individuals on a low-sodium diet. During four hours after infusion, we compared the observed changes in plasma sodium concentration and urinary cation excretion with changes that were calculated with the Adrogue-Madias and Nguyen-Kurtz formula, formulations widely implemented to guide the treatment of dysnatremias. We included 12 healthy non-smoking male individuals with normal blood pressure, body mass index, and kidney function. Right after infusion, the average observed plasma sodium change from baseline (3.5 mmol/L) was similar to the predicted changes by the Adrogue-Madias (3.3 mmol/L) and Nguyen-Kurtz formula (3.1 mmol/L). However, the observed plasma sodium concentration change after four hours (-1.8 mmol/L) was very different from the changes as predicted by the Adrogue-Madias (0.4 mmol/L) and the Nguyen-Kurtz formula (-0.9 mmol/L). Moreover, only 47% and 55%, respectively, of the expected sodium and potassium excretion were retrieved in the urine. Thus, healthy individuals are able to osmotically inactivate significant amounts of sodium after hypertonic saline infusion. Further research is needed to uncover factors that determine nonosmotic sodium storage.