Diagnosis and Treatment > Signs and Symptoms
Search for other papers by Usman Javaid in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Vikram Lal in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Catherine Napier in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Alison Burbridge in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Institute of Genetic Medicine, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Search for other papers by Richard Quinton in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Hypogonadal men may experience intense vasomotor symptoms, and vasomotor sweating can occasionally be associated with profound fluid losses. We describe a 37-year-old male, who exhibited persistent hypovolaemic hypernatraemia that was challenging to treat despite a continuous high fluid input (>4–5 L/day). He was noted to have drenching sweats and normochromic anaemia. He had recent traumatic head injury, which resulted in neurocognitive dysfunction, so pituitary function tests were done which showed primary hypogonadism. After exclusion of all other possible causes of excess sweating, hypernatraemia and anaemia, a trial of testosterone therapy was instituted. Sweating dramatically ceased within hours of his first testosterone injection, hydration status normalised within days and anaemia and neurocognitive function progressively improved with continued testosterone replacement. This case demonstrates how, in a susceptible individual, hypovolaemic hypernatraemia can arise from insensible cutaneous fluid loss through eccrine sweating, mediated by vasomotor symptoms of untreated hypogonadism. Although this scenario has not been described in the literature, we felt it needed to be shared with the wider medical community because of how the diagnosis and treatment utterly transformed this patient’s functional status and outcome.
Learning points:
-
Hypogonadal men may experience intense vasomotor symptoms and vasomotor sweating can occasionally be associated with profound fluid losses.
-
Whether or not there is also hyperosmolar hypernatraemia, clinicians should always consider the possibility of underlying hypogonadism in men with normocytic anaemia and excessive sweating.
-
Androgen (testosterone) replacement in hypogonadal men can have a dramatic effect on vasomotor sweating and hot flushes.
Search for other papers by Carlos Tavares Bello in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Francisco Sousa Santos in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by João Sequeira Duarte in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Carlos Vasconcelos in
Google Scholar
PubMed
Summary
Central diabetes insipidus (DI) is a rare clinical entity characterized by low circulating levels of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) presenting with polyuria and volume depletion. Pituitary surgery is the most common cause of central DI in adults. Pituitary and hypothalamic disease, particularly invasive neoplasms, rarely cause DI, being idiopathic cases responsible for the majority of non-surgical cases. HIV patients, especially those with poor virulogical control, are prone to the development of CNS neoplasms, particularly lymphomas. These neoplasms usually become manifest with mass effects and seizures. Central DI and hypopituitarism are uncommon initial manifestations of primary CNS lymphomas. The authors describe the case of 29-year-old female, HIV-positive patient whose CNS lymphoma presented with DI.
Learning points:
-
Central diabetes insipidus has multiple causes and central nervous system lymphomas are not often considered in the differential diagnosis due to their low prevalence.
-
Accurate biochemical diagnosis should always be followed by etiological investigation.
-
The HIV population is at risk for many neoplasms, especially CNS lymphomas.
-
New-onset polyuria in an HIV-positive patient in the absence of focal neurological signs should raise the suspicion for a central nervous system process of neoplastic nature.
-
This clinical entity usually constitutes a therapeutical challenge, often requiring a multidisciplinary approach for optimal outcome.
