Beer potomania: an unusual cause of symptomatic hyponatremia.
A 43-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with acute agitation, confusion, and tonic seizures. She had a history of drug abuse, most notably beer, which constituted her major dietary intake. The patient's seizures were at first thought to be factitious in association with an acute psychosis; however, her serum sodium concentration was 110 mEq/L and urine sodium was 14 mEq/L. The patient responded to IV hypertonic saline and subsequently recovered completely. Beer potomania, the most likely etiology for this patient's hyponatremia, is a rare disorder in which dietary sodium and protein insufficiency lead to dilutional hyponatremia.
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Joyce
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Potter
D000328:Adult; D001515:Beer / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007010:Hyponatremia / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011604:Psychoses, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology; D012964:Sodium / Q000032:analysis
D012964:Sodium