Background Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) in children is a rare condition and potentially lethal. The clinical characteristics are non-specific. It may be manifested as a chronic condition or crisis. The etiologies of PAI in children are different from the adult population. Therefore, diagnostic investigation becomes challenging. Methods A retrospective study was conducted at The First Affiliated Sun Yat Sen University Pediatric Endocrine unit between September 1989 and July 2016. Results A total of 434 patients (237 males, 197 females) were identified as having PAI. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) was the most frequent etiology (83.4%, n = 362, male:female = 174:188), of which 351 (97.2%) were 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OH) CAH. Non-CAH etiology accounted for 11.3% (n = 49, male:female = 47:2), of which 46 (93.9%) were of non-autoimmune. The etiologies of the 49 cases were adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD; n = 22), X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenital (X-AHC; n = 20), autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS; n = 3), triple A syndrome (n = 2), steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) gene mutation (n = 1) and adrenalectomy (n = 1). The etiology was not identified for 23 patients (5.3%, male:female =16:7). Clinical symptoms were in accordance with the incidence of genital ambiguity (42.6%), digestive symptoms (vomiting and diarrhea) (35.5%), failure to thrive (26.5%), gonadal-associated symptom (premature puberty, sexual infantilism and amenorrhea) (21.2%), hyperpigmentation (9.7%), adrenal crisis (AC; 4.1%), neurological symptoms (3.2%), fatigue (2.5%) and prolonged jaundice (2.1%). Through physical examination, 58.5% were found to have hyperpigmentation. Conclusions This study spanned 29 years at our institution. The etiology of PAI in children was mostly of congenital forms, which exhibits a wide spectrum of clinical characteristics. For etiological diagnosis, chromosomal karyotyping is recommended for female phenotype patients.

Background Aldosterone (Ald) is a crucial factor in maintaining electrolyte and water homeostasis. Defect in either its synthesis or function causes salt wasting (SW) manifestation. This disease group is rare, while most reported cases are sporadic. This study aimed to obtain an overview of the etiology and clinical picture of patients with the above condition and report our rare cases. Methods A combination of retrospective review and case studies was conducted at the Pediatric Endocrine unit of The First Affiliated Hospital Sun Yat Sen University from September 1989 to June 2020. Results A total of 187 patients with SW were enrolled, of which 90.4% (n = 169) were diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). SW type 21-hydroxylase deficiency accounted for 98.8% (n = 167) of CAH diagnosis, while 1.2% (n = 2) was of lipoid CAH. Non-CAH comprised 9.6% (n = 18) of the total patients whose etiologies included SF-1 gene mutation (n = 1), X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita (n = 9), aldosterone synthase deficiency (ASD, n = 4), and pseudo-hypoaldosteronism type 1 (PHA1, n = 1). Etiologies were not identified in three patients. All of patients with ASD and PHA1 exhibited SW syndrome in their early neonatal period. DNA sequencing showed mutations of CYP11B2 for P1-P4 and NR3C2 for P5. P1 and P2 were sibling brothers affected by compound heterozygous mutations of c.1121G > A (p.R374Q) and c.1486delC p.(L496fs); likewise, P4 was identified with compound heterozygous mutations of c.1200 + 1G > A and c.240–1 G > T; meanwhile P3 demonstrated c.1303G > A p.(G435S) homozygous mutation in CYP11B2 gene. Lastly, P5 showed c.1768 C > T p.(R590*) heterozygous mutation in the NR3C2 gene. Conclusion Etiology of infant with aldosterone defect was mostly congenital. Renal and adrenal imaging are recommended to exclude renal causes. If clinical picture is suggestive, normal plasma Ald in early infancy cannot rule out aldosterone insufficiency.