Sertraline and Hyponatremia

To the Editor: Hyponatremia and the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone have been reported in patients treated with sertraline (Zoloft). 1 – 3 We describe the rapid onset of hyponatremia in an 82-year-old woman who was hospitalized for progressive alcohol dependence, delirium due to alcohol intoxication, and severe depressive symptoms that had begun after her husband's death three years earlier. Initially, she was treated with lorazepam, thiamine, folate, and ranitidine. On the third hospital day, she was given 25 mg of sertraline for her depression, and 50 mg daily thereafter. On the second day of sertraline therapy we began to . . .