Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a disease that caused by insufficient or no anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) secretion from the posterior pituitary, which results in an increase in urine volume. CDI is controlled with ADH supplementation thereby reducing urine output and correcting electrolyte imbalance. However, reports on perioperative management for CDI patient are scarce, especially for patients who underwent cardiac surgery. We herein report our experience of the management of a CDI patient who underwent surgery for valvular heart disease.

The case is a 72-year-old woman who developed secondary CDI after pituitary tumor removal. She had been controlled with orally administered desmopressin acetate hydrochloride. She underwent aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair for severe aortic, and moderate mitral regurgitation. Immediately after surgery, we started vasopressin div, which yielded good urine volume control. However, once we started to switch vasopressin to oral desmopressin administration, the control became worse. We thus made a sliding scale for subcutaneous injection of vasopressin every 8 h according to the amount of urine output, which resulted in good control. Overlapping administration of vasopressin and oral desmopressin between postoperative day 12 and 17 resulted in successful transition. The patient was discharged with oral desmopressin administration. Management with sliding scale for vasopressin subcutaneous injection after surgery was useful in controlling a CDI patient who underwent major cardiac surgery.