Challenges in Management of Concomitant Primary Aldosteronism and Pheochromocytoma

Abstract

Patient: Male, 64-year-old Final Diagnosis: Pheochromocytoma • primary aldosteronism Symptoms: Hypertension Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Endocrinology and metabolic Objective: Background: Case Report: Conclusions: Rare coexistence of disease or pathology Primary aldosteronism and pheochromocytoma are endocrine causes of secondary arterial hypertension. The association of primary aldosteronism and pheochromocytoma is rare and the involved mechanisms are poor-ly understood. Either there is a coexistence of both diseases or the pheochromocytoma stimulates the produc-tion of aldosterone. Since management approaches may differ significantly, it is important to properly diag-nose the 2 conditions. We describe concomitant pheochromocytoma and primary aldosteronism in a patient with resistant hypertension, which demanded a challenging and individualized approach. A 64-year-old man was sent for observation in our department for type 2 diabetes and resistant hypertension. Laboratory work-up suggested a primary aldosteronism and a pheochromocytoma. The abdominal CT (before and after intravenous contrast, with portal and delayed phase acquisitions) revealed an indeterminate right adrenal lesion and 3 nodules in the left adrenal gland: 1 indeterminate and 2 compatible with adenomas. A 18F-FDOPA PET-CT showed increased uptake in the right adrenal gland. The patient underwent a right adre-nalectomy and a pheochromocytoma was confirmed. An improvement in glycemic control was observed after surgery but the patient remained hypertensive. A captopril test confirmed the persistence of primary aldoste-ronism, and he was started on eplerenone, achieving blood pressure control. This case highlights the challenges in diagnosing and treating the simultaneous occurrence of pheochromocy-toma and primary aldosteronism. Our main goal was surgical removal of the pheochromocytoma due to the risk of an adrenergic crisis.