The management of diabetes insipidus and hyponatraemia

Mirjam Christ-Crain*, Ewout J. Hoorn, Mark Sherlock, Chris J. Thompson, John Wass

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)
117 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

COVID-19 has changed the nature of medical consultations, emphasizing virtual patient counselling, with relevance for patients with diabetes insipidus (DI) or hyponatraemia. The main complication of desmopressin treatment in DI is dilutional hyponatraemia. Since plasma sodium monitoring is not always possible in times of COVID-19, we recommend to delay the desmopressin dose once a week until aquaresis occurs allowing excess retained water to be excreted. Patients should measure their body weight daily. Patients with DI admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have a high risk for mortality due to volume depletion . Specialists must supervise fluid replacement and dosing of desmopressin. Patients after pituitary surgery should drink to thirst and measure their body weight daily to early recognize the development of postoperative SIAD. They should know hyponatraemia symptoms. Hyponatraemia in COVID-19 is common with a prevalence of 20-30% and is mostly due to SIAD or hypovolaemia. It mirrors disease severity and is an early predictor of mortality. Hypernatraemia may also develop in COVID-19 patients, with a prevalence of 3-5%, especially in ICU, and derives from different multifactorial reasons, for example, due to insensible water losses from pyrexia, increased respiration rate and use of diuretics. Hypernatraemic dehydration may contribute to the high risk of acute kidney injury in COVID -19. IV fluid replacement should be administered with caution in severe cases of COVID-19 because of the risk of pulmonary oedema.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)G35-G42
Number of pages8
JournalEuropean Journal of Endocrinology
Volume185
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Aug 2021

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© 2021 The authors.

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