Spectrum of Addison's disease in children

Abstract

Objective: To determine the clinical presentation of Addison's disease in order to increase the awareness of presentation in Pakistani children. Study Design: Observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, Pakistan, from 2015 to 2019. Methodology: Sixty-three children of Addison's disease were enrolled in the study, who have visited and facilitated from the services of National Institute of Child Health from urban and rural region of the Sindh province. Diagnosis were made through biochemical analysis and detailed examination of acute and chronic symptoms. Study was initiated after taking the approval from Institutional Review Board. Moreover, written informed consents were also taken from each of the study participant. Results: There were 36 boys and 27 girls with a median age at diagnosis of 4.5 and 7.6 years, respectively. Twelve patients were presented with an adrenal crisis following an acute illness. All of them had hyponatraemia; however, 10 had a hyperkalaemia and 8 had been reported with hypoglycaemia. Increased skin pigmentation was observed in 45 children with other identifiable features including weight loss, lethargy, and poor response in activities. Moreover, 15 of them were identified with associated disorder (autoimmune polyendocrinopattay syndrome, Allgrove or triple A syndrome, and adrenoleukodystrophy). Conclusion: Typical and atypical presentations of Addison's disease in children of Pakistani population are defined in this study which may assist in better management of Addison's patients.