Vasopressin antagonist-like effect of acetazolamide in a heart failure patient: a case report

Hyponatraemia is easily corrected by treatment with an oral vasopressin antagonist, but these medications are costly and their use at outpatient clinics is restricted by government-managed insurance in Japan. Acetazolamide could be an alternative diuretic to a vasopressin antagonist.

An 83-year-old dyspnoeic male patient was emergently admitted to the hospital due to decompensated heart failure (HF), hypotension, and hyperkalaemia-associated sinus arrest with a junctional escape rhythm. Urgent treatment with a noradrenaline drip infusion and a beta stimulant adhesive skin patch promptly restored sinus rhythm with conducted normal QRS complex, which resolved the hypotension. Blood tests on admission revealed moderately elevated b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP, 576 pg/mL), hyponatraemia (128 mEq/L), hypochloraemia (95 mEq/L), hyperkalaemia (5.7 mEq/L), and preserved renal function (creatinine, 1.0 mg/dL) under no cardiovascular medications. Immediately after admission, low-dose oral acetazolamide (500 mg/day) and polystyrene sulfonate-Ca jelly (Argamate, 25 g/day for 3 days) were prescribed to correct the decompensated HF status and electrolyte disturbance. Three days later, both the serum sodium and chloride concentrations had recovered to normal levels (136 mEq/L and 104 mEq/L, respectively), and the serum potassium concentration had decreased to 4.5 mEq/L. Two weeks later, the patient’s HF status became stable and the serum BNP concentration returned to normal (55 pg/mL).

The present case indicates that the classic diuretic of acetazolamide would have a vasopressin blockade-like effect and could be an alternative diuretic to vasopressin antagonists for some proportion of HF patients with hyponatraemia.