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The bed-wetting drug desmopressin may cause potentially fatal seizures in some patients, according to a new warning issued by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this week.
Desmopressin is manufactured by several companies and sold as a tablet or nasal spray under a variety of names including DDVP, DDAVP, and Stimate. The drug is approved to treat and control bed-wetting, also known as primary nocturnal enuresis.
Intranasal Formulations & Hyponatremia
According to the FDA, intranasal formulations of the defective drug desmopressin make children “particularly susceptible to hyponatremia and seizures.” Hyponatremia is a serious condition marked by low blood sodium; it can cause seizures and death.
Sixty-one reports of hyponatremic-related seizures and two possibly related deaths have been reported to the FDA. More than half of those reports, 36, involved the use of intranasal desmopressin and 25 of those occurred in children under the age of 17.
Use with Caution
Desmopressin nasal sprays are no longer approved to treat bed-wetting in children, the agency said. Patients taking desmopressin tablets are cautioned to limit their fluid intake, and those who have dehydrating illnesses with fever and vomiting are urged to stop taking the drug.
The agency added that patients who may need greater fluid intake because of exercise or certain medications should use desmopressin with caution.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal online)
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