Central neurogenic diabetes insipidus, syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone, and cerebral salt-wasting syndrome are secondary events that affect patients with traumatic brain injury. All 3 syndromes affect both sodium and water balance; however, they have differences in pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Differentiating between hypernatremia (central neurogenic di...

To the Editor: The review by Sterns (Jan. 1 issue)1 on disorders of plasma sodium concentration, which are among the most frequently encountered (and mismanaged) problems in medicine, was enhanced by the use of illustrative cases (which appear in the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of the article at NEJM.org). After the second patient had a subarachnoid hemorrhage, plasma h...

BACKGROUND Hyponatremia has been reported from patients with severe neurological disease, and the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone and cerebral salt wasting syndrome are the two main etiologies of hyponatremia after brain injury. Here we describe a patient with a lateral medullary infarction who experienced symptomatic hyponatremia with finding suggestive of syndrome ...

BACKGROUND Hyponatremia associated with neuroleptic malignant syndrome has thus far been described as a syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone. OBJECTIVES To ascertain and describe the role of cerebral salt-wasting syndrome as the cause of hyponatremia in a patient with neuroleptic malignant syndrome. PATIENT A psychotic patient being treated with olanzapine presenting ...

Cerebral salt wasting (CSW) is a rare complication in posterior fossa tumour surgery. We present two patients with cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumours who developed cerebral salt wasting postoperatively. Both patients deteriorated in spite of intensive fluid and salt replacement. On CT scan the patients presented mild to moderate ventricular dilation, which was treated with an external ventric...