Diabetes insipidus: a challenging diagnosis with new drug therapies

Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is either due to deficient secretion of arginine vasopressin (central) or to tubular unresponsiveness (nephrogenic). Drug induced DI is a well-known entity with an extensive list of medications. Polyuria is generally defined as urine output exceeding 3 liters per day in adults. It is crucial to identify the cause of diabetes insipidus and to implement therapy as early as possible to prevent the electrolyte disturbances and the associated mortality and morbidity. It is very rare to have an idiosyncratic effect after a short use of a medication, and physicians should be aware of such a complication to avoid volume depletion. The diagnosis of diabetes insipidus is very challenging because it relies on laboratory values, urine output, and the physical examination of the patient. A high clinical suspicion of diabetes insipidus should be enough to initiate treatment. The complications related to DI are mostly related to the electrolyte imbalance that can affect the normal physiology of different organ systems.