117
Views
9
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Special Report

Risk of diabetes insipidus after pituitary surgery

&
Pages 23-27 | Published online: 10 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Diabetes insipidus is a common complication of pituitary surgery, occurring acutely in 18–30% of operations. Most patients recover full posterior function but a minority sustain sufficient damage to vasopressin-secreting neurons to develop permanent diabetes insipidus. The triplephase response, comprising early transient diabetes insipidus, followed by a period of antidiuresis and hyponatremia, before resolving into permanent diabetes insipidus, is an uncommon but important variant. Diabetes insipidus is more common following surgery for craniopharyngioma compared with pituitary adenoma, and craniopharyngioma patients may develop the dangerous complication of adipsic diabetes insipidus. Diabetes insipidus is also more common following pituitary surgery for Rathke’s cleft cysts and possible adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenomas. The data on tumor size are conflicting but our own experience would suggest that diabetes insipidus is more common after surgery for large suprasellar tumors, particularly those with hypothalamic extension. The experience and skill of the neurosurgeon also determines the likelihood of developing diabetes insipidus. The diagnosis of postsurgical diabetes insipidus depends on excluding other forms of polyuria, including diabetes mellitus, excess intravenous fluids and therapy with diuretics or mannitol. Treatment with vasopressin analogues is almost always effective in controlling renal water excretion and normalizing plasma sodium concentrations.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 99.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 608.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.