Abstract
Context
Patients with obesity have an overactivated renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) that is associated with essential hypertension. However, the influence of obesity in primary ...aldosteronism (PA) is unknown.
Objective
We analyzed the effect of obesity on the characteristics of PA, and the association between obesity and RAAS components.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted of the Spanish PA Registry (SPAIN-ALDO Registry), which included patients with PA seen at 20 tertiary centers between 2018 and 2022. Differences between patients with and without obesity were analyzed.
Results
A total of 415 patients were included; 189 (45.5%) with obesity. Median age was 55 years (range, 47.3-65.2 years) and 240 (58.4%) were male. Compared to those without obesity, patients with obesity had higher rates of diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, obstructive apnea syndrome, left ventricular hypertrophy, prior cardiovascular events, higher means of systolic blood pressure, and required more antihypertensive drugs. Patients with PA and obesity also had higher values of serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin A1c, creatinine, uric acid, and triglycerides, and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Levels of blood aldosterone (PAC) and renin were similar between patients with and without obesity. Body mass index was not correlated with PAC nor renin. The rates of adrenal lesions on imaging studies, as well as the rates of unilateral disease assessed by adrenal vein sampling or I-6β-iodomethyl-19-norcholesterol scintigraphy, were similar between groups.
Conclusion
Obesity in PA patients involves a worse cardiometabolic profile, and need for more antihypertensive drugs but similar PAC and renin levels, and rates of adrenal lesions and lateral disease than patients without obesity. However, obesity implicates a lower rate of hypertension cure after adrenalectomy.
Background: Adrenal incidentalomas (AI) are frequent findings in clinical practice. About 40% of AIs are associated with hypercortisolism of variable severity. Although mild autonomous cortisol ...secretion (MACS) has been associated with the impaired clinical outcome of several diseases, its effect on the development of benign neoplasms is unknown. Aim: To compare the prevalence of adenomas (thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary and other locations) in patients with nonfunctioning AIs (NFAIs) and MACS. Methods: A multicenter, retrospective study of patients with AIs evaluated in four tertiary hospitals was performed. Results: A total of 923 patients were included. Most patients were male (53.6%), with a mean age at diagnosis of 62.4 ± 11.13 years; 21.7% presented with bilateral AIs. MACS was observed in 29.9% (n = 276) of patients, while 69.9% (n = 647) were NFAIs. Adenomas in locations other than the adrenal gland were observed in 36% of the studied population, with a similar distribution in patients with MACS and NFAIs (33% vs. 32%; p > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid or other endocrine-related adenomas between both groups, but the prevalence of metabolic comorbidities and mortality was increased in patients with MACS, specifically in patients with thyroid and other endocrine-related adenomas (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Adenomas in locations other than the adrenal glands occur in one third of patients with AIs. Mild autonomous hypercortisolism does not affect the prevalence of other endocrine-related adenomas but is associated with increased metabolic comorbidities and mortality, especially in patients with thyroid adenomas and adenomas in other locations.
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of adrenal venous sampling (AVS) performance in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA), the main reasons for its non-performance, and the ...success and complications rate of this procedure in Spain. Moreover, the concordance between CT/MRI and AVS for PA subtyping was evaluated.
Methods
A retrospective multicenter study of PA patient follow-up in 20 Spanish tertiary hospitals between 2018–2021 was performed (SPAIN-ALDO Register).
Results
Of the 440 patients with PA included in the study, 153 underwent AVS (34.8%). The main reasons for not performing AVS were: patient rejection to the procedure, low catheterization rate in the center and unilateral disease based on CT/MRI. The overall success rate was 44.4% (the left adrenal vein was properly canulated in 77.8% and the right adrenal vein in 48.4%). Only 3 patients experienced minor complications. In the 45 patients with unilateral disease according to AVS, CT/MRI indicated bilateral disease or normal adrenal glands in 17. In the 23 patients with bilateral disease, CT/MRI indicated unilateral disease in 14. However, no significant differences were observed in biochemical response (
P
= 0.051) and hypertension resolution (
P
= 0.150) between patients who underwent surgery based on CT/MRI results and those who underwent surgery based on AVS results.
Conclusion
In our setting, AVS is still an underused technique in patients with PA. The low experience and success rate in AVS partially justify these results. More training for providers and patients needs to be done to include appropriate well performed AVS in the diagnosis algorithm of PA.
Case Report: COVID-19 with Bilateral Adrenal Hemorrhage Álvarez-Troncoso, Jorge; Zapatero Larrauri, Miriam; Montero Vega, M Dolores ...
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene,
09/2020, Letnik:
103, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A 70-year-old Dominican Republic man presented with lower back pain for 10 days. Fifteen days before pain onset, he had low-grade fever, chills, and asthenia, and 4 days before admission, he had ...constipation, malaise, generalized weakness, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. On admission, the patient was afebrile and hypotensive, with a heart rate of 105 and an oxyhemoglobin saturation on room air of 95%. Hyponatremia, lymphopenia, elevated C-reactive protein, and ferritin were observed in complementary tests. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed findings consistent with COVID-19 bilateral bronchopneumonia, and an increase in size and blurring (loss of the Y shape) of both adrenals indicative of acute bilateral adrenal hemorrhage. The patient tested negative by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal swab, yet positive for IgG and IgM by ELISA, suggesting COVID-19 diagnosis.
The purpose of our study was to develop a predictive model to rule out pheochromocytoma among adrenal tumours, based on unenhanced computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ...features. We performed a retrospective multicentre study of 1131 patients presenting with adrenal lesions including 163 subjects with histological confirmation of pheochromocytoma (PHEO), and 968 patients showing no clinical suspicion of pheochromocytoma in whom plasma and/or urinary metanephrines and/or catecholamines were within reference ranges (non-PHEO). We found that tumour size was significantly larger in PHEO than non-PHEO lesions (44.3 ± 33.2 versus 20.6 ± 9.2 mm respectively; P < 0.001). Mean unenhanced CT attenuation was higher in PHEO (52.4 ± 43.1 versus 4.7 ± 17.9HU; P < 0.001). High lipid content in CT was more frequent among non-PHEO (83.6% versus 3.8% respectively; P < 0.001); and this feature alone had 83.6% sensitivity and 96.2% specificity to rule out pheochromocytoma with an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC-ROC) of 0.899. The combination of high lipid content and tumour size improved the diagnostic accuracy (AUC-ROC 0.961, sensitivity 88.1% and specificity 92.3%). The probability of having a pheochromocytoma was 0.1% for adrenal lesions smaller than 20 mm showing high lipid content in CT. Ninety percent of non-PHEO presented loss of signal in the "out of phase" MRI sequence compared to 39.0% of PHEO (P < 0.001), but the specificity of this feature for the diagnosis of non-PHEO lesions low. In conclusion, our study suggests that sparing biochemical screening for pheochromocytoma might be reasonable in patients with adrenal lesions smaller than 20 mm showing high lipid content in the CT scan, if there are no typical signs and symptoms of pheochromocytoma.
To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the 131I-6β-iodomethyl-19-norcholesterol (NP-59) adrenal scintigraphy for the subtyping diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA), considering as gold standard ...for the diagnosis of unilateral PA (UPA), either the results of the adrenal venous sampling (AVS) or the outcome after adrenalectomy.
A retrospective multicenter study was performed on PA patients from 14 Spanish tertiary hospitals who underwent NP-59 scintigraphy with an available subtyping diagnosis. Patients were classified as UPA if biochemical cure was achieved after adrenalectomy or/and if an AVS lateralization index > 4 with ACTH stimulation or >2 without ACTH stimulation was observed. Patients were classified as having bilateral PA (BPA) if the AVS lateralization index was ≤4 with ACTH or ≤2 without ACTH stimulation or if there was evidence of bilateral adrenal nodules >1 cm in each adrenal gland detected by CT/MRI.
A total of 86 patients with PA were included (70.9% (n = 61) with UPA and 29.1% (n = 25) with BPA). Based on the NP-59 scintigraphy results, 16 patients showed normal suppressed adrenal gland uptake, and in the other 70 cases, PA was considered unilateral in 49 patients (70%) and bilateral in 21 (30%). Based on 59-scintigraphy results, 10.4% of the patients with unilateral uptake had BPA, and 27.3% of the cases with bilateral uptake had UPA. The AUC of the ROC curve of the NP-59 scintigraphy for PA subtyping was 0.812 0.707-0.916. Based on the results of the CT/MRI and NP-59 scintigraphy, only 6.7% of the patients with unilateral uptake had BPA, and 24% of the cases with bilateral uptake had UPA. The AUC of the ROC curve of the model combining CT/MRI and 59-scintigraphy results for subtyping PA was 0.869 0.782-0.957.
The results of NP-59 scintigraphy in association with the information provided by the CT/MRI may be useful for PA subtyping. However, their diagnostic accuracy is only moderate. Therefore, it should be considered a second-line diagnostic tool when AVS is not an option.
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension (HT), and is associated with a higher cardiometabolic risk than essential HT. However, PA remains underdiagnosed, ...probably due to several difficulties clinicians usually find in performing its diagnosis and subtype classification. The aim of this consensus is to provide practical recommendations focused on the prevalence and the diagnosis of PA and the clinical implications of aldosterone excess, from a multidisciplinary perspective, in a nominal group consensus approach by experts from the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), Spanish Radiology Society (SERAM), Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI), Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQC(ML)), Spanish Society of Anatomic-Pathology, Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC).
Highlights
Following a positive screening test, no further studies are needed for diagnosis of PA if a plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) > 20 ng/dL and a low circulating direct renin or plasma renin activity (PRA) are detected in a patient with spontaneous hypokalemia.
In all other patients, one (or more) of four different tests is (are) currently recommended: the fludrocortisone suppression test, the oral salt loading test, the intravenous saline test, and/or the captopril challenge test.
In all cases, hypokalemia must be corrected prior to testing.
Interfering medication must be progressively withdrawn before testing, while introducing alpha-1 adrenergic blockers, long-acting non-dihydropyridine calcium antagonists, and/or hydralazine as needed for control of hypertension.
All but the captopril challenge test run the risk of inducing hypokalemia, fluid overload, and a worsening of hypertension.
In the case of borderline results, the initial test employed can be repeated, or a second test performed. Patients with both a negative saline infusion and captopril challenge test appear to be at a low risk for harboring unilateral disease, whereas those positive for both are more likely to exhibit unilateral aldosterone secretion than when tests render conflicting results.
Patients showing a positive screening aldosterone to renin ratio (ARR) with normal/high PAC and a low renin/PRA, yet with negative diagnostic testing, presenting mild hyperaldosteronism, can benefit from targeted therapy of hypertension with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists.
Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension and is associated with a higher cardiometabolic risk than essential hypertension. The aim of this consensus is to ...provide practical clinical recommendations for its surgical and medical treatment, pathology study and biochemical and clinical follow-up, as well as for the approach in special situations like advanced age, pregnancy and chronic kidney disease, from a multidisciplinary perspective, in a nominal group consensus approach of experts from the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN), Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), Spanish Radiology Society (SERAM), Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI), Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQC(ML)), Spanish Society of Anatomic-Pathology and Spanish Association of Surgeons (AEC).
Keypoints
The treatment of choice for PA is medical therapy with mineralocorticoid receptor blockade for bilateral cases and unilateral adrenalectomy for unilateral PA.
The goals of PA treatment are to normalize blood pressure (BP) and excessive aldosterone production, with the final aim of improving associated comorbidities and reducing mortality.
Spironolactone is usually the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) of choice for medical treatment of PA. However, eplerenone has a similar efficacy to that of spironolactone when used in doses 2–3 times higher than the latter and administered 2–3 times a day.
Eplerenone has the advantage of not inducing the anti-androgenic side effects commonly seen with spironolactone.
Adrenalectomy is the gold standard procedure used to remove the aldosterone-hypersecreting adrenal tissue.
The Primary Aldosteronism Outcome (PASO) group criteria are recommended for defining the control objectives of biochemical and clinical response to treatment.
Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) and its implications on cardiometabolic and surgical ...outcomes. Methods This is a retrospective multicenter study of PA patients who underwent 1 mg dexamethasone-suppression test (DST) during diagnostic workup in 21 Spanish tertiary hospitals. ACS was defined as a cortisol post-DST >1.8 µg/dL (confirmed ACS if >5 µg/dL and possible ACS if 1.8–5 µg/dL) in the absence of specific clinical features of hypercortisolism. The cardiometabolic profile was compared with a control group with ACS without PA (ACS group) matched for age and DST levels. Results The prevalence of ACS in the global cohort of patients with PA (n = 176) was 29% (ACS–PA; n = 51). Ten patients had confirmed ACS and 41 possible ACS. The cardiometabolic profile of ACS–PA and PA-only patients was similar, except for older age and larger tumor size of the adrenal lesion in the ACS–PA group. When comparing the ACS–PA group (n = 51) and the ACS group (n = 78), the prevalence of hypertension (OR 7.7 (2.64–22.32)) and cardiovascular events (OR 5.0 (2.29–11.07)) was higher in ACS–PA patients than in ACS patients. The coexistence of ACS in patients with PA did not affect the surgical outcomes, the proportion of biochemical cure and clinical cure being similar between ACS–PA and PA-only groups. Conclusion Co-secretion of cortisol and aldosterone affects almost one-third of patients with PA. Its occurrence is more frequent in patients with larger tumors and advanced age. However, the cardiometabolic and surgical outcomes of patients with ACS–PA and PA-only are similar.
Objectives
We aimed to compare the effectiveness of contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), technetium Tc 99m methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99mTc‐MIBI) single‐photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) ...scintigraphy, and high‐resolution ultrasound (US) in the detection of a pathologic parathyroid gland in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT).
Methods
Twenty‐nine consecutive patients with pHPT were prospectively enrolled and underwent preoperative imaging with 99mTc‐MIBI SPECT scintigraphy, high‐resolution US, and CEUS and subsequent parathyroidectomy. Contrast‐enhanced US examinations were performed by an experienced examiner who was blinded to the results of scintigraphy and high‐resolution US. The diagnostic performance of all of the imaging tests was analyzed in comparison with the pathologic anatomic findings. All investigations were performed at La Paz University Hospital.
Results
In the 29 patients (22 female and 7 male), a total of 31 parathyroid adenomas were detected: single lesions in 27 patients and a double lesion in 2 patients. Contrast‐enhanced US revealed sensitivity of 66.7% (95% confidence interval CI, 46%–82.7%) for detection of single adenomas in comparison with 77.8 % (95% CI, 57.3%–90.6) for 99mTc‐MIBI SPECT scintigraphy and 51.8% (95% CI, 32.3%–70.8%) for high‐resolution US (P = .100). With CEUS, double adenomas could be detected in both cases (sensitivity, 100%); however, scintigraphy and high‐resolution US did not detect any cases of double adenomas. In addition, CEUS allowed the differentiation of lymphatic nodes from parathyroid glands in 2 patients. No side effects were observed for CEUS.
Conclusions
In our study, CEUS facilitated the detection and diagnosis of double adenomas compared with high‐resolution US and 99mTc‐MIBI SPECT scintigraphy. Additionally, CEUS was useful in the differentiation between parathyroid adenomas and lymph nodes.