endocrine and metabolic disorders
Volume Overload
Diagnosis of Volume Overload
Clinical evaluation Diagnosis is mainly clinical. Key features include weight gain and edema. The location and amount of edema are dependent on many factors, including whether the patient has been sitting, lying, or standing recently. Clinical findings vary significantly depending on the cause and are discussed in detail elsewhere in THE MANUAL. Serum sodium concentration can be high, low, or normal in volume-overloaded patients (despite the increased total body sodium content). Urinary sodium may help differentiate acute kidney injury from other (nonrenal) acute causes of volume overload. In renal failure, the urinary sodium is > 20 mEq/L (> 20 mmol/L) as compared to < 10 mEq/L (< 10 mmol/L) in Heart Failure (HF) , 