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Case Reports
. 2025 Aug 14;17(8):e90051.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.90051. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Tea and Porridge Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Severe Hyponatremia

Somarajan Anandan  1 , Sajeesh Rajendran  2 , Sisira S Rajan  1 , Anandhu Suresh  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Tea and Porridge Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Severe Hyponatremia

Somarajan Anandan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Hyponatremia is a very common electrolyte imbalance in clinical practice and can result from diverse etiologies. Initial evaluation includes assessment of serum and urine osmolality, along with urinary sodium levels. Only a few causes of hyponatremia present with a urine osmolality of less than 100 mOsm/kg. We describe a case of severe hyponatremia with low urine osmolality in a hypertensive woman who presented with insomnia and vomiting. Due to persistent vomiting, she had been consuming a liquid, carbohydrate-only diet with low salt intake and tea, leading to low solute intake hyponatremia, similar to the "tea and toast" syndrome commonly reported in Western countries. In this case, it is more appropriately called "tea and porridge" syndrome.

Keywords: hyponatremia; low solute intake hyponatremia; low urine osmolality; syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis; syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion; tea and porridge syndrome; tea and toast syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Informed consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Computerised tomography of brain at the level of midbrain - normal
The patient's age was entered incorrectly as 71 years by the external imaging center. Our medical records show her age as 68 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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