Diagnosis of Diabetes insipidus

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Symptoms such as producing large amounts of urine can be linked to many conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, so tests are needed to diagnose diabetes insipidus.

Urinalysis involves testing a sample of urine. Usually doctors will take a sample of urine and a blood sample from patients who have not had anything to drink for a few hours. People with diabetes insipidus will continue to pass large amounts of dilute urine, whereas most people would pass a small amount of concentrated (dark) urine.

The blood and urine will be tested for substances such as blood sugar (glucose), calcium, and potassium. If there is lots of sugar in the urine, the cause is more likely to be diabetes mellitus.

Other tests can be used to work out the type of diabetes insipidus. To test whether it is caused by a lack of ADH, the patient may be given a dose of ADH. If the amount of urine produced returns to a normal level, this shows that ADH is the cause. There will be no effect if the condition is caused by a problem in the kidneys.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scans) can be used to look at the head, to see if there are any tumours or any damage to the pituitary gland.

It is also possible to test unborn babies for diabetes insipidus. This allows doctors to treat the baby as early as possible, and make sure they do not become dehydrated or have any of the complications of diabetes insipidus (see Complications section).