FDA Issues Alert On Bed Wetting Drug

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the manufacturers to update drug labels and prescription information on desmopressin, available in tablet and nasal spray form and used to treat bed wetting, to include new information about severe hyponatremia, a condition caused by insufficient sodium in the blood which leads to seizures and sometimes death.

Desmopressin reduces water elimination via urine, thus preventing excessive thirst, urination and dehydration brought about by a range of conditions such as types of diabetes, physical injury, surgery and other medical conditions.

Children who were being treated with intranasal forms of desmopressin for bed wetting or primary nocturnal enuresis(PNE) were "particularly susceptible to severe hyponatremia and seizures" said the FDA.

Nasal spray formulations that contain desmopressin are no longer approved for the treatment of bed wetting (PNE), said the FDA, and they should not be used in patients with hyponatremia or who have a history of it.