Chronic occult adrenocortical insufficiency: report of a case.

Abstract

The classic picture of adrenal insufficiency as described by Thomas Addison in 1868 is well recognized. 1 Recently, Haydar and associates 2 have described seven cases of adrenocortical insufficiency with normal basal levels of urinary 17-hydroxycorticoids and only a few of the typical clinical manifestations of this disease. The patient in the case presented here has had various nonspecific manifestations for many years, which in retrospect may well have been due, at least in part, to borderline adrenocortical function and presented ultimately in a state of acute addisonian crisis. Report of a Case A 50-year-old childless housewife was admitted to the Bridgeport Hospital on Jan. 30,1958, because of recurrent spells of vomiting and syncope for one day. One week prior to admission she experienced transient nausea and diarrhea, which was relieved by administration of a mixture of kaolin and pectin suspended with methylcellulose (Kaopectate). Severe vomiting and watery diarrhea recurred