Anxiety as a manifestation of pheochromocytoma; report of two cases.

Abstract

The situation (modern professionalism) is dangerous. It produces minds in a groove. Each profession makes progress but it is progress in its own groove... the groove prevents straying across country... there is no groove of abstraction which is adequate for comprehension of human life. A. N. Whitehead Pheochromocytomas simulating acute anxiety attacks1and the hypermetabolic state2have been reported. In fact, the features of this tumor are so well known it has prompted Kvale3to remark that definite clues can be obtained as to the presence of this tumor at the first or second office visit. Watkins2reaffirms that our knowledge of these tumors is sufficient to permit a diagnosis by the thoughtful physician in nearly all cases. The purpose of this paper is to present two cases where long-standing anxiety seemed to predominate and to emphasize the similarity between this syndrome and chronically discharging pheochromocytoma.