Treatment of psychogenic polydipsia with acetazolamide: a report of 5 cases.
OBJECTIVE
Psychogenic polydipsia occurs frequently in patients with chronic psychiatric illness and is often unmanageable. We herein report 5 patients in whom acetazolamide was trialed for this symptom.


METHODS
We encountered a case in which polydipsia improved with incidental administration of acetazolamide. We then used this treatment for 4 additional cases of treatment-resistant psychogenic polydipsia, some of which were accompanied by hyponatremia.


RESULTS
Acetazolamide improved polydipsia and/or hyponatremia in 4 of the 5 cases. This treatment was well tolerated and allowed 3 of the patients to permanently leave isolation.


CONCLUSIONS
Acetazolamide appears to have a beneficial effect in psychogenic polydipsia.
Department of Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan. stakagi@ncnp.go.jp
Shunsuke
S
Takagi
Yutaka
Y
Watanabe
Takefumi
T
Imaoka
Masuhiro
M
Sakata
Masako
M
Watanabe
D000086:Acetazolamide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007010:Hyponatremia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013894:Thirst / Q000187:drug effects*; D014869:Water Intoxication / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology
D000086:Acetazolamide