Clinical experience with desmopressin: efficacy and safety in central diabetes insipidus and other conditions.

Because of its selective antidiuretic activity, desmopressin is recognized as the drug of choice for central diabetes insipidus. Compared with previously available treatments, it has a greatly enhanced therapeutic profile, allowing more specific antidiuresis without adverse reactions. Its selective antidiuretic activity is used with advantage in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis and as a diagnostic test of tubular function. Desmopressin is available for intranasal and parenteral administration; antidiuretic doses range from 10 to 40 micrograms intranasally and from 2 to 4 micrograms intravenously or subcutaneously. For its hemostatic effect, a single infusion of desmopressin at a dose of 0.3 microgram/kg has been used in most studies. Well-documented evidence shows that desmopressin is safe and efficacious as a selective antidiuretic agent for the treatment of central diabetes insipidus and nocturnal enuresis and as a diagnostic test of tubular function. Even at the 15-fold higher doses used in bleeding disorders, desmopressin appears to be well tolerated.