Desmopressin Acetate (DDAVP) Good News

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic focuses attention again on the dissemination of infections through blood transfusion. Fortunately, at this critical time, a safe and effective alternative to plasma products has become available in this country for some of the patients at risk, namely, those with mild factor VIII deficiency. Desmopressin acetate (DDAVP; 1-desamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin) is a synthetic analogue of 8-arginine vasopressin, the natural antidiuretic hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland.1-4Desmopressin acetate has 80 to 100 times the antidiuretic effect of natural vasopressin but only 0.25% to 1% the pressor effect. Mild facial flushing or mild headache sometimes occurs for a few minutes during its administration. Water retention is unlikely with normal fluid intake. To my knowledge, long-term toxic reactions have not been reported. The drug is well known to endocrinologists in its dilute nose-drop formulation, used for treatment of diabetes insipidus. It also causes a quick rise