Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Case Study
  • Published:

A case of fluoxetine-induced syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion

Abstract

Background A 58-year-old schizophrenic male who had been drinking at least 4–5 l of pure water every day for 30 years was admitted to a hospital with complaints of nausea, fatigue, and irregular, fluctuating fevers (up to 39 °C). He had previously been prescribed fluoxetine at a dose of 20 mg/day and had been using the drug for 28 days.

Investigations Review of medical history, physical examination, blood analysis, urine analysis, chest radiography and abdominal ultrasound.

Diagnosis Psychogenic polydipsia and fluoxetine-induced syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.

Management Fluid restriction and discontinuation of fluoxetine.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Changes in the patient's serum sodium level during follow-up by the nephrology unit.

References

  1. Bartter FC and Schwartz WB (1967) The syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. Am J Med 42: 790–806

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Adrogué HJ and Madias NE (2000) Hyponatremia. N Engl J Med 342: 1581–1589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Strachan J and Shepherd J (1998) Hyponatremia associated with the use of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 32: 295–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Romerio SC et al. (2000) SIADH with epileptic seizures and coma in fluoxetine therapy [German]. Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax 89: 404–410

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bluff DD and Oji N (1995) SIADH in a patient receiving sertraline [letter]. Ann Intern Med 123: 811

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Spigset O and Hedenmalm K (1997) Hyponatremia in relation to treatment with antidepressants: a survey of reports in the World Health Organization data base for spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions. Pharmacotherapy 17: 348–352

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Liu B A et al. (1996) Hyponatremia and the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone associated with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors: a review of spontaneous reports. CMAJ 155: 519–527

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Hariprasad MK et al. (1980) Hyponatremia in psychogenic polydipsia. Arch Intern Med 140: 1639–1642

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. De Leon J et al. (1994) Polydipsia and water intoxication in psychiatric patients: a review of the epidemiological literature. Biol Psychiatry 35: 408–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Goldman MB et al. (1997) Psychotic exacerbations and enhanced vasopressin secretion in schizophrenic patients with hyponatremia and polydipsia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54: 443–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Saito T et al. (1999) Urinary excretion of aquaporin-2 water channel differentiates psychogenic polydipsia from central diabetes insipidus. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84: 2235–2237

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Movig KL et al. (2002) Serotonergic antidepressants associated with an increased risk for hyponatremia in the elderly. Eur J Pharmacol 58: 143–148

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ferreira da Cunha D et al. (2000) Hyponatremia in acute-phase response syndrome patients in general surgical wards. Am J Nephrol 20: 37–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Beukhof CM et al. (2007) Novel risk factors for hospital-acquired hyponatraemia: a matched case–control study. Clin Endocrinol 66: 367–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Anderson IK et al. (1992) Central administration of 5-HT activates 5-HT1A receptors to cause sympathoexcitation and 5-HT2/5-HT1C receptors to release vasopressin in anaesthetized rats. Br J Pharmacol 107: 1020–1028

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Brownfield MS et al. (1988) Neuropharmacological characterization of serotoninergic stimulation of vasopressin secretion in conscious rats. Neuroendocrinology 47: 277–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Elman I et al. (2003) Effects of acute metabolic stress on the peripheral vasopressinergic system in schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol 17: 317–323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kramer DS et al. (1983) Acute psychosis, polydipsia, and inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. Am J Med 75: 712–714

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Emsley R et al. (1989) Water excretion and plasma vasopressin in psychotic disorders. Am J Psychiatry 146: 250–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Savas Ozturk.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ozturk, S., Ozsenel, E., Kazancioglu, R. et al. A case of fluoxetine-induced syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion. Nat Rev Nephrol 4, 278–282 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneph0780

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneph0780

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing