DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS BETWEEN DIABETES INSIPIDUS AND COMPULSIVE POLYDIPSIA

Abstract

The study of 4 patients with polyuria and polydipsia, on whom a series of clinical tests were performed, indicates that the most definitive one consists of administering vasopressin intravenously immediately after a period of dehydration. If the pitressin produces a more concentrated urine than the dehydration, diabetes insipidus is diagnosed; if not, compulsive polydipsia is diagnosed. It is felt that diabetes insipidus and compulsive polydipsia are related in many ways, but that they differ in prognosis; hence it is important to differentiate between them.