Clinical Characteristics of Adipsic Diabetes Insipidus.

OBJECTIVE

Adipsic diabetes insipidus (ADI) is a life-threatening disease. It is characterized by arginine vasopressin deficiency and thirst absence. Data about clinical characteristics of ADI were scarce. This study investigated the clinical features of hospitalized ADI patients.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted of hospitalized ADI patients admitted to the Endocrinology Department of Huashan Hospital between January 2014 and December 2021, and compared with central diabetes insipidus (CDI) patients with normal thirst.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were a total of 507 hospitalized CDI patients, among which 50 cases were ADI, accounting for 9.9%. Forty percent of ADI patients were admitted due to hypernatremia, but there were no admissions due to hypernatremia in the control group. The lesions of ADI patients were more likely to be located in the suprasellar area (100% vs 66%, P < .05). Higher prevalence of hypothalamic dysfunction (76% vs 8%, P < .001), central hypothyroidism (100% vs 90%, P = .031), hyperglycemia (66% vs 32%, P < .001), dyslipidemia (92% vs 71%, P = .006), and hyperuricemia (64% vs 37%, P = .003) was found in the ADI group than in the control group. The proportions of hypernatremia were higher in the ADI group both at admission and at discharge (90% vs 8%, 68% vs 8%, respectively, both with P < .001), contributing to higher prevalence of complications, such as renal insufficiency, venous thrombosis, and infection.

CONCLUSION

ADI patients were found with higher prevalence of hypernatremia, hypopituitarism, hypothalamic dysfunction, metabolic disorders, and complications, posing a great challenge for comprehensive management.