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.

CONCLUSION

Acetazolamide appears to have a beneficial effect in psychogenic polydipsia.