PREVALENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF DIURETIC INDUCED MUSCLE CRAMPS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Ann Mary George*, Aiswarya Santhosh, Anjaly Augustine, Soumya Jose and Deepthi C. Denny

ABSTRACT

Cramps occurred in the course of diuretic therapy are due to electrolyte disturbances. Common causes of muscle cramps include hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesaemia, hypercalcemia, increased age, neurological disease, peripheral vascular disease, arthritis and hemodialysis. A prospective observational study was conducted for assessing the prevalence and management of diuretic induced muscle cramps. A total of 104 patients were enrolled for the study who had a history of diuretic use for at least 3 months, their medical and medication profiles were assessed and questionnaires filled through direct interview with the patient. The prevalence of muscle cramps was 18.26% and Vitamin E (46.15%) was frequently prescribed to relieve cramps. This study also points out the association between muscle cramps and hyponatremia which was found significant (P value= 0.025) when statistical analysis was performed using Chi-Square test.

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