Addison’s disease — symptoms and diagnosis. Case study

Wstęp. Choroba Addisona to zespół objawów klinicznych, wywołanych długotrwałym niedoborem hormonów kory nadnerczy, do którego dochodzi w wyniku autoimmunologicznego uszkodzenia nadnerczy. Najczęściej chorują kobiety, a początek choroby obserwuje się zwykle w 3. lub 4. dekadzie życia. Cel pracy. Przedstawienie trudności diagnostycznych, jakie mogą pojawić się w związku z ustaleniem ostatecznego rozpoznania choroby Addisona. Opis przypadku. Pacjentka 24-letnia z podejrzeniem pierwotnej niedoczynności kory nadnerczy została w trybie nagłym przyjęta do Kliniki Endokry­nologii. Od około pięciu miesięcy chora obserwowała nasilające się ciemnienie skóry, hipotensję, postępujące osłabienie z epizodami zasłabnięć, pogorszenie apetytu wraz z towarzyszącym spadkiem masy ciała. Lekarz rodzinny i dermatolog, do których w pierwszej kolejności zgłosiła się chora, nie brali pod uwagę patologii nadnerczy jako przyczyny zgłaszanych objawów, co opóźniło ustalenie ostatecznego rozpoznania. Wnioski. Ważną rolę w diagnostyce niedoczynności kor y nadnerczy odgrywa dobrze zebrany wywiad chorobowy oraz badanie przedmiotowe, a dokładna znajomość objawów klinicznych może znacznie ułatwić wczesne ustalenie rozpoznania. Choroba Addisona może przebiegać bez charakterystycznych zaburzeń gospodarki elektrolitowej, co może utrudniać jej wczesne rozpoznanie.Introduction. Addison’s disease is a constellation of symptoms triggered by long-term adrenal insufficiency, which is caused by autoimmune adrenal damage. Addison’s disease affects mostly women. The onset of the disease is usually observed in 3rd or 4th decade of life. Aim of the study. In the present paper diagnostic difficulties connected with posting a final diagnosis of Addison’s disease were presented. Case study. A 24-year female patient was admitted to Clinic of Endocrinology as an emergency case with suspected primary adrenal insufficiency. The medical history of the patient indicated progressive darkening of the skin, hypotension, fatigue with episodes of collapse, decreased appetite and weight loss over the last five months. The general practitioner and the dermatologist, who she consulted first, didn’t take into account the adrenal pathology as the cause of reported symptoms, which delayed the posting of final diagnosis. Conclusions. A significant factor in diagnosing adrenal insufficiency is a w ell-gathered medical history and physical examination. A thorough knowledge of signs and symptoms of this disease may be the key to early diagnosis. Addison’s disease may show no characteristic electrolyte metabolism disturbances, which may be a significant problem in posting an accurate early diagnosis

Parathyroid cancer — difficult diagnosis — a case report

Parathyroid cancer is a rare disorder of unclear etiology that is difficult to diagnose and treat. It is most often diagnosed incidentally based on multi-organ non-specific symptoms of hypercalcemia as a consequence of parathyroid hormone oversecretion. We present a case of a male with primary hyperparathyroidism who was diagnosed with parathyroid cancer ectopically located in the mediastinum only after the third surgery. However, due to chronic hypercalcemia, problems with localization and a bad clinical condition, the patient was not able to undergo a radical resection and one year after the first pathological fracture died. Taking into consideration the whole clinical picture we want to emphasize the need to apply comprehensive differential diagnosis of hypercalcemia and localization diagnosis of parathyroid tissue with a use of MIBI scintigraphy accompanied by the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, as the most specific diagnostic tools employed in this pathology.Parathyroid cancer is a rare disorder of unclear etiology that is difficult to diagnose and treat. It is most often diagnosed incidentally based on multi-organ non-specific symptoms of hypercalcemia as a consequence of parathyroid hormone oversecretion. We present a case of a male with primary hyperparathyroidism who was diagnosed with parathyroid cancer ectopically located in the mediastinum only after the third surgery. However, due to chronic hypercalcemia, problems with localization and a bad clinical condition, the patient was not able to undergo a radical resection and one year after the first pathological fracture died. Taking into consideration the whole clinical picture we want to emphasize the need to apply comprehensive differential diagnosis of hypercalcemia and localization diagnosis of parathyroid tissue with a use of MIBI scintigraphy accompanied by the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, as the most specific diagnostic tools employed in this pathology

Analiza obrazu klinicznego niedoczynności tarczycy u kobiet w okresie menopauzy

The objective of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical picture of hypothyroidism in women, inrelation to their menopausal status. Materials and methods: A total of 694 female ambulatory patients were divided into 3 groups: group I – 258menstruating patients aged up to 45, group II – 124 perimenopausal patients aged between 46 and 52, group III– 312 postmenopausal patients aged over 52. Medical documentation of the patients with hypothyroidism wasevaluated in terms of the selected features of their medical history and clinical picture of the disease. Results: The main cause of hypothyroidism was the chronic autoimmune thyroid gland inflammation; ingroup I it concerned 62.8% of patients, in the remaining two groups it was 50.0% and 51.6%, respectively. Analysing the prevalence of clinical symptoms it was found that the most frequent ones were: weight gain (18.6%),weakness (16.3%) and drowsiness (14.7%). In group II the prevailing symptoms were: hypertension (37.1%),weight gain (21.8%), drowsiness and weakness (12.1%) whereas in group III hypertension (60.3%), symptoms ofischemic heart disease (24.4%) and weight gain (14.4%) were dominant. Mean daily doses of levothyroxine usedin the 3 groups of patients were 90 μg, 81 μg ,74 μg, respectively. In women from groups II and III, a lipid balancedisorder (hypercholesterolemia) was observed significantly more often than in younger patients. Conclusions: Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed most frequently in postmenopausal women. The main causeof hypothyroidism was the chronic autoimmune thyroid gland inflammation. In postmenopausal women unusualclinical symptoms of hyperthyroidism dominated, which resulted from the coexistence of other diseases,mainly cardiovascular disorders. A 24-hour long-dose of levothyroxine in postmenopausal women was lower ascompared to menstruating women. Hypercholesterolemia was a considerably frequent element of the clinicalpicture of hypothyroidism in postmenopausal women