Ketamine-Induced Diabetes Insipidus

Abstract

The authors report a case of diabetes insipidus (DI) associated with a ketamine infusion. A 42-year-old Asian man underwent an exploratory laparotomy and splenectomy who was admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) for postoperative management. Pain control was attempted with escalating dose of opioids but was inadequate, prompting the addition of a ketamine infusion. Shortly after initiation, a massive rise in urine output ensued in addition to a change in his urine electrolyte studies, leading to the diagnosis of drug-induced diabetes insipidus. Ketamine was discontinued, and treatment with subcutaneous desmopressin was initiated. Treatment was continued for a total of 5 days, which resulted in a resolution of his DI. This report suggests that the patient likely experienced a medication-induced DI, which was successfully resolved through proper identification of the causative agent, removal, and subsequent treatment with desmopressin. Causality assessment between ketamine and DI was determined using the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale—a total score of 7 was achieved and thus identified the adverse drug reaction as probable. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility that ketamine may be contributory in a patient with unexplained DI.

Keywords:

• Desmopressin
• diabetes insipidus
• ketamine
• opioid tolerance

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Table 3. A Summary of case reports.