A May 2011 article published in The American Journal of Medical Sciences studied physician compliance with recommended guidelines related to hypernatremia (elevated levels of sodium in the blood) and the rate of correction of the electrolyte derangement. The retrospective cohort study analyzed 117 patients and concluded the correction of hypernatremia was slow resulting in inadequate correction in most patients. Inadequate correction of hypernatremia was found to be a significant predictor of 30-day mortality.