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Diabetes insipidus - central - Symptom

Alternative Names

Central diabetes insipidus

Symptoms:

Increased amount of urine production
Excessive thirst
Confusion and changes in consciousness (if the patient is unable to drink)

Signs and tests:

A person with central diabetes insipidus produces more than 3 liters of urine a day. Urinalysis will show a low concentration of salt in the urine.

A water restriction test is used to look at how well the kidney works and how much urine is produced. This test is done during a hospital stay. Results are checked every hour. A blood test to check plasma sodium concentration is done every 2 hours. Serum sodium/salt concentration may be high if the condition is untreated.

An MRI of the head may show a problem in or near the pituitary gland.

Endocrine glands

Reviewed last on: 7/28/2008
Robert Cooper, MD, Endocinology Specialist and Chief of Medicine, Holyoke Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston MA Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Bringhurst FR, Demay MB, Kronenberg HM. Disorders of Mineral Metabolism. In: Kronenberg HM, Schlomo M, Polansky KS, Larsen PR, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2008: chap. 27.

Robinson AG, Verbalis JG. Posterior Pituitary. In: Kronenberg HM, Schlomo M, Polansky KS, Larsen PR, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2008: chap. 9.

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