Clinical Evaluation of Adrenal Tumors

ABSTRACT

We retrospectively analyzed 40 adrenalectomies due to 13 cases of primary aldosteronism, 12 cases of Cushing's syndrome and 15 cases of pheochromocytoma, which were performed at Chungnam National University Hospital during the last 10 years. Of the 25 patients who presented with adrenal cortical tumors(primary aldosteronism and Cushing's syndrome), 23 had an adenoma and two had cortical hyperplasia. The overall ratio of males to females was 2:1. As to the age distribution, primary aldosteronism was predominant in the 4th and the 5th decades and Cushing's syndrome; in the 3rd and the 4th decades; however, pheochromocytoma was almost evenly distributed in 2nd through the 6th decades. Headaches, fatigue, and general weakness were the most frequent symptoms in primary aldosteronism; weight gain or a change in fat distribution in Cushing's syndrome; and headaches or blurred vision related to hypertension and palpitation in pheochromocytoma. Postoperative complications mostly occurred in patients with Cushing's syndrome: There were four wound infections, including one abdominal abscess, one pleurisy, one cerebral and cerebellar infaction, and two intestinal obstructions, but there were no postoperative deaths.