title: A marked proportional rise in IVC aldosterone following cosyntropin administration during AVS is a signal to the presence of adrenal hyperplasia in primary aldosteronism.
abstract: We hypothesized aldosteronoma responsiveness to cosyntropin may be a characterizing feature that could be determined in addition to standard adrenal vein sampling (AVS) data. We reviewed an AVS database from June 2005 to October 2011 including 65 patients with confirmed primary aldosteronism (PA) who underwent AVS and, if applicable, unilateral adrenalectomy. Patients were divided into confirmed lateralized and non-lateralized groups and subgrouped by histology. Plasma aldosterone in inferior vena cava (IVC) pre- and post-cosyntropin infusion during AVS was measured. Peak aldosterone and proportional change was compared between groups. Baseline and peak IVC aldosterone was higher in lateralized patients but incremental aldosterone rise was much greater in subjects with bilateral hyperplasia. From receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analysis, the optimized diagnostic cut point of peak IVC aldosterone of >649 pmol l(-1) would have a sensitivity of 94% for surgical disease although specificity of just 59%. A 250% increase in IVC aldosterone following cosyntropin would be specific enough to exclude 87% of surgical/lateralized disease. These diagnostic capabilities are similar to other results with non-AVS tests performed for diagnosis of lateralization. Although not specific enough to replace standard AVS interpretation, a marked IVC aldosterone increase after cosyntropin during AVS is a useful additional test to diagnose non-lateralizing forms of PA. Such a calculation requires no additional expense or tests.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pasieka
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: So
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery; D000315:Adrenalectomy; D018246:Adrenocortical Adenoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D003366:Cosyntropin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D021983:Cyclophilins; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D006728:Hormones; D003366:Cosyntropin; D000450:Aldosterone; D021983:Cyclophilins; C515035:ROC1 protein, Arabidopsis