Case 47, part II: Oral hyperpigmentation associated with Addison's disease.
This case is interesting in several respects. Although diffuse oral hyperpigmentation is suggestive of Addison's disease and should prompt the latter to be a prominent potential diagnosis in any setting, diagnosis was delayed by lack of constitutional and systemic symptoms, normal preliminary hematologic and electrolytic laboratory data, and the strong opinion of the pathologist that the oral mucosal biopsy specimen represented a fixed drug eruption. A subsequent orthopedic complaint and the resultant cooperative efforts of staff persons from several disciplines led to the proper diagnosis.
D000224:Addison Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D000293:Adolescent; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000473:pathology*