J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  2008 Jun;32(3):267-272.

Effect and Safety of Oral Desmopressin for Nocturia in Brain Injured Patients

• Choi SW
• Song W
• Kim W
• Kim EJ
• Kim JH
• Yang HC
• Kim HN

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of oral desmopressin administration for nocturia and sleeping in brain injured patients and to confirm its safety. METHOD: 20 brain injured patients waking up more than twice a night for urination during sleeping have been subjected to take 0.1 mg of desmopressin at 9 p.m. everyday for 30 days. To analyze the effect of the drug before and after its administration, the frequency of patient's awakening for urination, duration of time to first urination after sleeping, total urination volume during sleeping and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were evaluated. All newly found symptoms one month after taking the medication were recorded to confirm the safety of the drug.
RESULTS
After taking the medication, the mean urination frequency of 20 patients was reduced from 2.4 to 1.4, the mean duration of time to the first urination after sleeping was increased from 3.4 hours to 4.9 hours (p<0.01). The mean PSQI score of 20 patients was decreased from 9.7 to 4.8 (p<0.01). 2 patients had side effects (hyponatremia, headache).
CONCLUSION
The oral administration of desmopressin was relatively safe and effective on brain injured patients with nocturia.

Keyword

Desmopressin; Nocturia; Brain; Sleep

MeSH Terms

Administration, Oral
Brain
Deamino Arginine Vasopressin
Humans
Nocturia
Urination
Deamino Arginine Vasopressin