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The United States’ Food and Drug
Administration announced on Tuesday that two patients taking desmopressin,
which is a drug to control bed-wetting, died. The health officials also said
that it was still unclear whether the drug had contributed to the deaths. However,
the agency added that nasal versions of desmopressin were no longer approved for
treating bed-wetting and asked doctors and patients to take these indications
into consideration.
Desmopressin is currently sold
under the names DDAVP Nasal Spray, DDVP, DDAVP Rhinal Tube, Stimate Nasal Spray
and Minirin. Sanofi-Aventis is one of the several companies making these
medications.
The Food and Drug Adminstration
warned also about the other forms of the drug and asked people to use them “cautiously”
especially in patients at risk of sodium imbalances that can be caused by
over-hydration.
Before making public these
warnings, the FDA reviewed 61 reports of people treated with desmopressin that
developed seizures related to hyponatremia, which is a health condition when sodium’s level is too low. Two
of these people died; their ages were of 28 and 80 respectively, according to
Susan Cruzan, FDA’s spokeswoman.
Thirty-six seizure reports were
associated with intranasal forms of desmopressin. However, patients were also advised
to stop treatment with tablets during episodes that may trigger fever,
recurrent vomiting, or diarrhea.
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