Inappropriate ADH Secretion

Abstract

To the Editor.— In their recent case report involving two schizophrenic patients 1 in whom the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) developed, Drs Matuk and Kalyanaraman suggested that the psychopharmacologic agents with which their patients were being treated were responsible for the development of the SIADH. The occurrence of SIADH has been previously reported in a schizophrenic patient who was given no medications, and the development of the SIADH was attributed to an exacerbation of the psychoses. 2 I would caution the addition of haloperidol and thioridazine treatment, two medications commonly used in psychiatric practice, to the expanding list of agents responsible for the SIADH until there is some experimental evidence to support this suspicion. Good medical care of the psychiatric patient is a difficult, challenging, but often neglected task. The development of SIADH demands investigation for a possible underlying disorder, as the authors noted. Having a drug to readily