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Unusual association of diseases/symptoms
CASE REPORT
SIADH and water intoxication related to ecstasy
  1. Cecile Salathe1,
  2. Anne-Laure Blanc2,
  3. Damien Tagan3
  1. 1Service de Médecine Intensive Adulte, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
  2. 2Pharmacie Clinique, Pharmacie des Hôpitaux de l’Est Lémanique, Vevey, Switzerland
  3. 3Internal Medicine, Hopital Riviera-Chablais, Vevey, Switzerland
  1. Correspondence to Dr Cecile Salathe, cecile{at}2505.ch

Summary

Recreational drug use is a significant societal issue and remains a clinical challenge in emergency and critical care departments. We report on a 19-year-old woman admitted to hospital semiconscious and with severe hyponatraemia. Urinalysis was positive for methamphetamine and supported a diagnosis of hyponatraemia related to ecstasy use together with a syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). The woman was transferred to an intensive care unit, where a hypertonic saline infusion was started. Three hours postadmission she developed polyuria. Follow-up urinalysis at this point was consistent with water intoxication. This case is a reminder that hyponatraemia is a potentially fatal complication after the ingestion of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, illustrates the sequential nature of an SIADH and water intoxication and highlights the importance of considering the sequence of onset of hyponatraemia, as the patient may be admitted at any stage.

  • toxicology
  • unwanted effects/adverse reactions
  • fluid electrolyte and acid–base disturbances

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2018-224731

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors CS: substantial contributions towards acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data. Revising the work critically for important intellectual content. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. A-LB: substantial contributions towards acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data. Revising the work critically for important intellectual content. DT: revising the work critically for important intellectual content. Final approval of the version published. Design of the figure.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.