[Central diabetes insipidus in the very young child. Treatment with oral desmopressin].

Neonatal diabetes insipidus (DI) is extremely rare. An efficacious substitutive treatment can be particularly difficult to ensure. We have treated two children with central DI, revealed during the neonatal period, successively with an intranasal preparation of desmopressin at one month of age and with an oral preparation at one and 3 years respectively. We conclude that oral treatment with desmopressin is possible, secure and effective in DI presenting in the first months of life. This new form of administration seems even better for younger children when the difficulties of intranasal administration can be responsible for severe complications. As with the intranasal form, the doses given orally are very variable and individual.