A case of colonoscopy-induced hyponatraemic encephalopathy led us to study the risk of hyponatraemia after gastrointestinal endoscopy. We assessed 40 patients before and after colonoscopy. 20 gastroscopy patients served as controls. Our findings show a high incidence (7.5%) of hyponatraemia after colonoscopy, in association with raised serum concentrations of arginine vasopressin. Physicians should be aware of this complication, since it may contribute to psychological and neurological symptoms after colonoscopy.
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