Table 1.
Clinical characteristics according to the distinct clusters of hyperchloremia patients.
| Patient Characteristics | Overall (n = 11,394) |
Cluster 1 (n = 3237) |
Cluster 2 (n = 4059) |
Cluster 3 (n = 4098) |
p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 60.8 (17.9) | 61.3 (15.9) | 48.9 (16.5) | 72.3 (12.3) | <0.001 |
| Male sex | 5706 (50) | 1446 (45) | 2047 (50) | 2213 (54) | <0.001 |
| Race | <0.001 | ||||
| - White | 10,528 (92) | 2944 (91) | 3668 (90) | 3916 (96) | |
| - Black | 191 (2) | 56 (2) | 94 (2) | 41 (1) | |
| - Others | 675 (6) | 237 (7) | 297 (7) | 141 (3) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 29.0 (6.8) | 28.4 (6.6) | 28.7 (6.7) | 29.7 (6.9) | <0.001 |
| Principal diagnosis | <0.001 | ||||
| - Cardiovascular | 3750 (33) | 1192 (37) | 1094 (27) | 1464 (36) | |
| - Endocrine/metabolic | 195 (2) | 61 (2) | 40 (1) | 94 (2) | |
| - Gastrointestinal | 974 (9) | 367 (11) | 253 (6) | 354 (9) | |
| - Genitourinary | 403 (4) | 93 (3) | 84 (2) | 226 (6) | |
| - Hematology/oncology | 1233 (11) | 348 (11) | 234 (6) | 651 (16) | |
| - Infectious disease | 379 (3) | 198 (6) | 54 (1) | 127 (3) | |
| - Respiratory | 243 (2) | 92 (2) | 72 (2) | 109 (3) | |
| - Injury/poisoning | 1933 (17) | 467 (14) | 970 (24) | 496 (12) | |
| - Other | 2284 (20) | 449 (14) | 1258 (31) | 577 (14) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Score | 1.6 (2.2) | 1.6 (2.0) | 0.5 (1.0) | 2.7 (2.6) | <0.001 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| - Coronary artery disease | 859 (8) | 193 (6) | 117 (3) | 549 (13) | <0.001 |
| - Congestive heart failure | 785 (7) | 178 (6) | 122 (3) | 485 (12) | <0.001 |
| - Peripheral vascular disease | 374 (3) | 92 (3) | 25 (1) | 257 (6) | <0.001 |
| - Dementia | 169 (1) | 29 (1) | 13 (0) | 127 (3) | <0.001 |
| - Stroke | 858 (8) | 203 (6) | 125 (3) | 530 (13) | <0.001 |
| - COPD | 807 (7) | 244 (8) | 85 (2) | 478 (12) | <0.001 |
| - Diabetes mellitus | 2040 (18) | 586 (18) | 220 (5) | 1234 (30) | <0.001 |
| - Cirrhosis | 347 (3) | 164 (5) | 47 (1) | 136 (3) | <0.001 |
| - End-stage kidney disease | 378 (3) | 77 (2) | 11 (0) | 290 (7) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory test | |||||
| - eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 74 (24) | 75 (21) | 91 (18) | 56 (20) | <0.001 |
| - Sodium (mEq/L) | 141 (3) | 139 (3) | 141 (3) | 142 (3) | <0.001 |
| - Potassium (mEq/L) | 4.2 (0.6) | 4.0 (0.6) | 4.1 (0.4) | 4.4 (0.7) | <0.001 |
| - Chloride (mEq/L) | 110 (3) | 112 (4) | 109 (2) | 110 (2) | <0.001 |
| - Bicarbonate (mEq/L) | 23 (3) | 22 (4) | 24 (3) | 23 (4) | <0.001 |
| - Anion gap | 8 (4) | 6 (4) | 8 (3) | 10 (3) | <0.001 |
| - Strong ion difference | 34.8 (3.4) | 31.5 (3.0) | 35.6 (2.5) | 36.7 (2.6) | <0.001 |
| - Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 11.5 (2.2) | 10.2 (1.9) | 13.2 (1.6) | 10.9 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| - Albumin (g/dL) | 3.5 (0.4) | 3.1 (0.3) | 3.8 (0.3) | 3.5 (0.3) | <0.001 |
| Acute kidney injury | 1542 (14) | 434 (13) | 170 (4) | 938 (23) | <0.001 |