Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2010 Apr 29:2010:bcr10.2009.2414.
doi: 10.1136/bcr.10.2009.2414.

Beer potomania: a case report

Affiliations
Case Reports

Beer potomania: a case report

Nimesh Bhattarai et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A syndrome of hyponatraemia associated with excessive beer drinking was first recognised in 1971. This syndrome has been referred to as beer potomania. Dilutional hyponatraemia occurs due to excessive consumption of an exclusive beer diet which is poor in salt and protein. We report a case of beer potomania who improved dramatically with introduction of solute load, with no subsequent neurological sequelae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trend of sodium in the first 48 h after hospitalisation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow chart showing mechanism of hyponatraemia in beer potomania.

References

    1. Demanet JC, Bonnyns M, Bleiberg H, et al. Coma due to water intoxication in beer drinkers. Lancet 1971; 2: 1115–7 - PubMed
    1. Fenves AZ, Thomas S, Knochel JP. Beer potomania: two cases and review of the literature. Clin Nephrol 1996; 45: 61–4 - PubMed
    1. Upadhyay A, Jaber BL, Madias NE. Incidence and prevalence of hyponatremia. Am J Med 2006; 119(7 Suppl 1): S30–5 - PubMed
    1. Liamis GL, Milionis HJ, Rizos EC, et al. Mechanisms of hyponatraemia in alcohol patients. Alcohol Alcoholism 2000; 35: 612–6 - PubMed
    1. Fanestil DD. Hypoosmolar syndromes. : Andreoli T, Grantham JJ, Rector FC, Jr, eds. Disturbances in body fluid osmolality. American Physiological Society, 1977: 267–84

Publication types