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Case Reports
. 2019 Sep 11;12(9):e231114.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-231114.

Adrenal lymphoma presenting as primary hypoadrenalism in the elderly

Raghav Bhargava  1 , Anthony Dixon  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Adrenal lymphoma presenting as primary hypoadrenalism in the elderly

Raghav Bhargava et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Adrenal lymphoma causing primary hypoadrenalism in the elderly is a very rare finding. We describe a case of an 85-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital. He had a short history of hypotension and unresponsiveness. He was referred to the endocrine team, after a CT scan of his thorax abdomen and pelvis demonstrated significant enlargement of both his adrenal glands with associated lymphadenopathy. This scan was originally done to rule out an occult intra-abdominal malignancy. In addition, a tetracosactide (short Synacthen) test demonstrated adrenal insufficiency. This case demonstrates that adrenal lymphoma should be considered as an important differential when there is evidence of adrenal gland hyperplasia, lymphadenopathy and adrenal insufficiency.

Keywords: adrenal disorders; haematology (incl blood transfusion).

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CT scan showing adrenal gland hypertrophy (coronal view).
Figure 2
Figure 2
CT scan showing adrenal gland hypertrophy (axial view).
Figure 3
Figure 3
CT scan showing para-aortic lymph node enlargement (axial view).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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