Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-dependent Cushing syndrome is rarely caused by a pheochromocytoma. We present a case of a 46-year-old woman who developed severe hypertension, hypokalemia, and typical Cushingoid features. Investigations revealed extremely high metanephrine, cortisol, and ACTH levels. Imaging showed a 3.8-cm left adrenal mass. Preoperative control of hypertension and hypokalemia was very challenging. The patient was cured after surgical removal of the adrenal mass. We followed this by a review of the literature using the databases Google Scholar and PubMed. A total of 58 cases have been reported to date. In summary, ACTH-producing pheochromocytoma is a rare condition that poses a clinical challenge in the perioperative period. It is important that physicians be aware of such a condition because early recognition and treatment are crucial to decrease morbidity and mortality.
Prior studies demonstrate that a novel genomic test, the gene expression classifier (GEC), could identify a benign gene expression signature in those nodules with indeterminate cytology with a negative predictive value of greater than 95 %. Examine the performance of the AFIRMA gene expression classifier in predicting benign and malignant nodules in patients with cytologically indeterminate nodules. MEDLINE and EMBASE search for studies meeting eligibility criteria between January 1, 2005, and August 30, 2015. A total of 58 studies identified. After excluding duplicates, case reports, reviews, commentary, insufficient data, a total of seven studies selected for analysis. We combined individual patient data from seven studies that examined the GEC test for indeterminate thyroid nodules. The reference standard for determination of benign or malignant nodules was the histopathology of the thyroidectomy specimen. A QUADAS-2 report for all studies included in the final analysis was tabulated for risk of bias and applicability. The pooled sensitivity of the GEC was 95.7 % (95 % CI 92.2-97.9, I (2) value 45.4 %, p = 0.09), and the pooled specificity was 30.5 % (95 % CI 26.0-35.3, I (2) value 92.1 %, p < 0.01). Overall, the diagnostic odds ratio was 7.9 (95 % CI 4.1-15.1). Patients with benign GEC were not followed long enough to ascertain the actual false-negative rates of the index test. Our meta-analysis revealed a high pooled sensitivity and a low specificity for the AFIRMA-GEC test for indeterminate thyroid nodules. This makes it an excellent tool to rule out malignancy.
Awareness of sodium intake and its relationship with cardiovascular outcomes has been a patients of debate for decades. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommended <2 g sodium intake or <5 g salt intake daily because it was beneficial for blood pressure as well as risks of stroke, cardiovascular, and coronary heart diseases. 1 The 2019 American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines for prevention of cardiovascular disease have also recommended minimizing consumption of salt along with other dietary interventions as measures preventing cardiovascular morbidity. 2 Numerous studies have argued the merits of low sodium diet and suggested association with cardiovascular disease outcomes. 3-9 A meta-analysis concluded the existence of a J-shaped association between sodium intake and cardiovascular mortality. 10 Reverse causation
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.