Diabetes insipidus treated by DDAVP.

The symptomatic treatment of diabetes insipidus with pitressin is well known and very effective. The only problem concerns the type of pitressin to be used. In the past, pitressin snuff and various other intranasal instillations have been used, but these either have not been very effective, or have resulted in unpleasant side effects such as rhinitis. Until recently, the only effective form of the drug available in Australia has been pitressin tannate in oil. This often has to be given as a daily injection, which, like all intramuscular injections, is painful and, being in an oily base, is particularly likely to result in abscess formation. The recent introduction of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin (DDAVP), which can be simply instilled into the nostril, appears to present an advance in therapy.