1/2. Rathke's cleft cyst presenting with hyponatremia and transient central diabetes insipidus.We describe an 18-year-old female who complained of general weakness, nausea, vomiting, headache, and lightheadedness. On physical examination, she was euvolemic without visual or neurological deficits. The striking biochemical abnormality was hyponatremia (125 mmol/l). This hyponatremia met the laboratory diagnostic criteria for the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). Two litres of normal saline were given per day for 4 days and this did not correct her hyponatremia. A spontaneous diuresis (6.6 l) developed in 1 day, causing a rise in her PNa of 26 mmol and a final PNa of 152 mmol/l. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a dumbell-shaped intrasellar and suprasellar cyst. During transsphenoidal surgery, a Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC) lined with columnar epithelium containing mucoid material was resected. We speculate that the growing RCC may have produced critical compression over the stalk, thus contributing to the transition from SIADH with hyponatremia to transient central diabetes insipidus with hypernatremia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Accurate patient history contributes to differentiating diabetes insipidus: a case study.This case study highlights the important contribution of nursing in obtaining an accurate health history. The case discussed herein initially appeared to be neurogenic diabetes insipidus (DI) secondary to a traumatic brain injury. The nursing staff, by reviewing the patient's health history with his family, discovered a history of polydipsia and long-standing lithium use. lithium is implicated in drug-induced nephrogenic DI, and because the patient had not received lithium since being admitted to the hospital, his treatment changed to focus on nephrogenic DI. By combining information from the patient history, the physical examination, and radiologic and laboratory studies, the critical care team demonstrated that the patient had been self-treating his lithium-induced nephrogenic DI and developed neurogenic DI secondary to brain trauma. Thus successful treatment required that nephrogenic and neurogenic DI be treated concomitantly.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |