Nephrology

Free Water Deficit

Estimated water deficit in hypernatraemia.

Education and reference only. Not a substitute for clinical judgement, local policy or product labelling. Always verify before clinical use. Values are calculated in your browser and never stored.

When to use

Use in hypernatraemia to estimate the free water deficit and guide replacement.

Why use

It gives a starting estimate for correcting hypernatraemia.

Critical actions

Correct hypernatraemia slowly (aim to lower sodium by ≤10–12 mmol/L per 24h) to avoid cerebral oedema. This is an estimate; reassess and recalculate frequently.

Evidence & references

  1. Adrogué HJ, Madias NE. Hypernatremia. NEJM. 2000.

Related calculators

Need a calculator we don't have — or a custom tool?

We build evidence-led clinical calculators, dashboards and reference tools for teams.

☎ Call Get a Proposal