1. Primary Adrenal Insufficiency in Childhood: Data From a Large Nationwide Cohort.
- Author
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Capalbo D, Moracas C, Cappa M, Balsamo A, Maghnie M, Wasniewska MG, Greggio NA, Baronio F, Bizzarri C, Ferro G, Di Lascio A, Stancampiano MR, Azzolini S, Patti G, Longhi S, Valenzise M, Radetti G, Betterle C, Russo G, and Salerno M
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adrenal Insufficiency congenital, Adrenal Insufficiency diagnosis, Adrenal Insufficiency genetics, Age of Onset, Child, Child, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Comorbidity, Delayed Diagnosis statistics & numerical data, Female, Humans, Infant, Italy epidemiology, Male, Mutation, Prevalence, Retrospective Studies, Adrenal Insufficiency epidemiology
- Abstract
Context: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition that is poorly characterized in children., Objective: To describe causes, presentation, auxological outcome, frequency of adrenal crisis and mortality of a large cohort of children with PAI., Patients and Methods: Data from 803 patients from 8 centers of Pediatric Endocrinology were retrospectively collected., Results: The following etiologies were reported: 85% (n = 682) congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD); 3.1% (n = 25) X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy; 3.1% (n = 25) autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1; 2.5% (n = 20) autoimmune adrenal insufficiency; 2% (n = 16) adrenal hypoplasia congenital; 1.2% (n = 10) non-21-OHD CAH; 1% (n = 8) rare syndromes; 0.6% (n = 5) familial glucocorticoid deficiency; 0.4% (n = 3) acquired adrenal insufficiency; 9 patients (1%) did not receive diagnosis. Since 21-OHD CAH has been extensively characterized, it was not further reviewed. In 121 patients with a diagnosis other than 21-OHD CAH, the most frequent symptoms at diagnosis were fatigue (67%), hyperpigmentation (50.4%), dehydration (33%), and hypotension (31%). Elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone (96.4%) was the most common laboratory finding followed by hyponatremia (55%), hyperkalemia (32.7%), and hypoglycemia (33.7%). The median age at presentation was 6.5 ± 5.1 years (0.1-17.8 years) and the mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 5.6 ± 11.6 months (0-56 months) depending on etiology. Rate of adrenal crisis was 2.7 per 100 patient-years. Three patients died from the underlying disease. Adult height, evaluated in 70 patients, was -0.70 ± 1.20 standard deviation score., Conclusions: We characterized one of the largest cohorts of children with PAI aiming to improve the knowledge on diagnosis of this rare condition., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2021
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