The Diuretic Response to Administered Water in Patients with Liver Disease

While it is stated that the diuretic response to water loading in patients with hepatic cirrhosis is often impaired, 1 there are several reports suggesting that striking limitation in water excretion is not a common finding. 2-5 Much of this literature is reviewed elsewhere. 6 In the course of searching for patients suffering from cirrhosis who had limited ability to excrete administered water, we were impressed with their relative rarity despite the fact patients with cirrhosis are not uncommon in this area. This report records the study of 48 patients with cirrhosis and includes an attempt to correlate the capacity to excrete administered water with the clinical condition of the patient and some parameters of renal function. The data suggest that, with the exception of a number of seriously ill patients, most patients with cirrhosis have significant diuretic responses to administered water. Methods Patients with hepatic cirrhosis were studied subsequent