Diuretic withdrawal--a need for caution

Diuretic therapy was withdrawn from 42 patients receiving modest drug doses for reasons other than hypertension, active heart failure and renal or hepatic oedema, with frequent assessment by clinical, biochemical and radiological methods for 12 weeks. Of 38 patients who could have completed the study, 27 (71%) did so without ill-effect. Eleven (29%) patients deteriorated clinically or radiologically, 7 within 2 weeks of discontinuing diuretics, and 1 of them died after acute pulmonary oedema and a haematemesis, despite intensive resuscitation. The outcome of drug withdrawal could be predicted in 35 of the patients using a multifactorial discriminant analysis but individual parameters had poor predictive value. The lack of demonstrable benefit in many patients and the incidence of adverse effects associated with long-term diuretic therapy suggest that withdrawal should be considered more often in this type of patient. However, there is a need for caution in this situation and withdrawal should only be attempted if close medical supervision and radiological examination of the chest are possible.