Adrenal Venous Sampling Research Articles

Adrenocorticotropic hormone application lowered aldosterone/cortisol value on dominant side without superior surgical outcomes during adrenal venous sampling.

Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is thought to be the gold standard for primary aldosteronism (PA) subtype discrimination, during which the application of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) arouses heated debate. We aimed to identify the effect of ACTH on AVS and surgical outcomes. After propensity score matching (PSM), a total of 220 patients diagnosed with PA and completed AVS were included (110 without ACTH stimulation and 110 with ACTH stimulation). According to AVS results, surgeries were conducted in appropriate patients. ACTH stimulation significantly increased almost all selectivity index (SI) in both left adrenal vein (LAV) and right adrenal vein (RAV). We discovered that aldosterone/cortisol (A/C) value on dominant side significantly reduced after ACTH stimulation, with a reduction in lateralization index (LI) observed. Finally, 39 patients in unstimulated group and 32 patients in stimulated group completed surgery and enough follow-up. The comparison between surgical outcomes with and without ACTH stimulation was analyzed and the difference was not significant (p=.464). In conclusion, ACTH application significantly lowered A/C value instead of the relative aldosterone secretion index (RASI) value on dominant side, which did not yield superior surgical outcomes and might render confusing AVS interpretation.

Feasibility of single-port laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy with selective adrenal venous sampling and high-resolution ultrasound for unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas

BackgroundThe surgical and endocrinological outcomes of single-port laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy for patients with aldosterone-producing adenomas are unknown. Precise diagnosis of intra-adrenal aldosterone activity and a precise surgical procedure may improve outcomes. In this study, we aimed to determine the surgical and endocrinological outcomes of single-port laparoscopic partial adrenalectomy with preoperative segmental selective adrenal venous sampling and intraoperative high-resolution laparoscopic ultrasound in patients with unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas. We identified 53 patients with partial adrenalectomy and 29 patients with laparoscopic total adrenalectomy. Single-port surgery was performed for 37 and 19 patients, respectively. MethodsA single-center, retrospective cohort study. All patients with unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas diagnosed by selective adrenal venous sampling and treated surgically between January 2012 and February 2015 were included. Follow-up with biochemical and clinical assessments was set at 1 year after surgery for short-term outcomes and was performed every 3 months after surgery. ResultsWe identified 53 patients with partial adrenalectomy and 29 patients with laparoscopic total adrenalectomy. Single-port surgery was performed for 37 and 19 patients, respectively. Single-port surgery was associated with shorter operative and laparoscopic times (odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.039–0.49; P = .002 and odds ratio, 0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.032–0.57; P = .006, respectively). All single-port and multi-port partial adrenalectomy cases showed complete short-term (median 1 year) biochemical success, and 92.9% (26 of 28 patients) who underwent single-port partial adrenalectomy and 100% (13 of 13 patients) who underwent multi-port partial adrenalectomy showed complete long-term (median 5.5 years) biochemical success. No complications were observed with single-port adrenalectomy. ConclusionSingle-port partial adrenalectomy is feasible after selective adrenal venous sampling for unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas, with shorter operative and laparoscopic times and a high rate of complete biochemical success.

'Pseudo-failure' of adrenal vein sampling due to cortisol co-secretion by KCNJ5-mutant adenoma, and prediction of complete clinical success by urine hybrid steroid assay

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

Indication, performance and outcomes of adrenal vein sampling in patients with primary hyperaldosteronism

Primary hyperaldosteronism (PAH) is an important cause of secondary hypertension (HTN). The study of the same requires a high clinical suspicion in addition to a hormonal study that confirms hormonal hypersecretion. It is important to start the appropriate treatment once the diagnosis is confirmed, and for this is necessary to demonstrate whether the hormonal hypersecretion is unilateral (patients who could be candidates for surgical treatment) or bilateral (patients who are candidates for pharmacological treatment only).At the Hospital del Mar since 2016 there has been a multidisciplinary work team in which Nephrologists, Endocrinologists, Radiologists and Surgeons participate to evaluate cases with suspected hyperaldosteronism and agree on the best diagnostic-therapeutic approach for these patients, including the need for adrenal vein sampling, which is a technique that in recent years has become the gold standard for the study of PAH.In the present study we collect the experience of our centre in performing AVC and its usefulness for the management of these patients.

Adrenal venous sampling in tertiary centre from 2015. to 2022

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

Adrenal Venous Sampling in a patient with bilateral adrenal adenomas and Cushing's syndrome

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

Implementation of a new adrenal venous sampling (AVS) protocol for primary aldosteronism: early data from a single tertiary centre

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

Adrenal venous sampling in patients with hyperaldosteronism

Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology ISSN 1470-3947 (print) | ISSN 1479-6848 (online)

The value of CT-based energy imaging to discriminate dominant side lesions in primary aldosteronism.

The current clinical discrimination of the dominant side of primary aldosteronism (PA) mainly relies on invasive adrenal venous sampling (AVS) examination. This study investigated the feasibility of dual-energy CT energy imaging parameters as a novel biomarker in identifying bilateral adrenal dominant lesions. Fifty PA patients with bilateral lesions who underwent CT and AVS of the adrenal glands at Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from October 2019 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-eight patients had successful bilateral blood collection and two failed right-sided blood collection due to venous variation. Forty patients who were classified based on AVS underwent unilateral adrenalectomy and pathological findings confirmed adenoma in all cases. Quantitative dual-energy CT parameters were measured for all adrenal lesions, and the differences in dual-energy CT energy spectrum imaging parameters between the dominant and nondominant adrenal lesions were compared. Among forty-eight PA patients with bilateral lesions, forty patients with preoperative AVS-determined lesions on the dominant side underwent unilateral adrenalectomy, and eight patients without the dominant side were treated with medication. The iodine concentration difference (ICD) in the arteriovenous phase was more significant in the 40 cases of primary aldosteronism with dominant adrenal lesions than in the nondominant adrenal lesions (1.18 ± 0.45 vs 0.41 ± 0.42). The NICAP was higher in the dominant adrenal lesions than in the non-dominant lesions (0.39 ± 0.39 vs 0.14 ± 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of the dominant adrenal lesion were 88.2% and 82.4% using the ICD of 0.68 as the threshold value. Conventional CT has lower diagnostic value for dominant adrenal lesions, and CT-based energy imaging can be a new assessment method as a complement to AVS in identifying bilateral dominant adrenal lesions.

Contrast medium free selective adrenal vein sampling in the management of primary aldosteronism

BackgroundTo analyze contrast free adrenal vein sampling (AVS) for differentiating unilateral from bilateral disease in patients diagnosed with hypertension due to primary aldosteronism (PA). MethodsConsecutive patients with PA and subsequent contrast medium free AVS between April 2015 and March 2020 were retrospectively included. Cross-sectional imaging (CSI), AVS and clinical data were analyzed regarding diagnostic performance. In addition, patients with lateralisation receiving adrenalectomy were compared to a control group treated with mineralocorticoid antagonists. ResultsIn total 186 patients with AVS were included. The success rate for bilateral catheterization was 88% (median effective dose 2.8 mSv). CSI had an accuracy of 60% (CI: 0.52–0.67) in the detection of lateralization compared to AVS. Patients with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia and those with aldosterone-producing adenoma did not differ in systolic blood pressure (sBP) (p = 0.63) or number of antihypertensive drugs (NAD) (p = 0.11). After adrenalectomy, 28 patients were cured (51%; sBP ≤130 mmHg, NAD = 0), 18 were improved (33%; decrease of sBP ≥20 mmHg and NAD), and 8 were unchanged (15%). Serum renin increased significantly after treatment (p < 0.01). ConclusionContrast medium free AVS is a reliable procedure in the diagnostic management of patients with PA with high technical success rate. The accordance between CSI and results from AVS was only moderate indicating the central role of AVS in the diagnostic work-up of patients with PA. Patients with predominant disease diagnosed with AVS had a high cure rate and/or significant improvement after adrenalectomy.

Primary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (PBMAH) patient with ARMC5 mutations

BackgroundPrimary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (PBMAH) is a highly heterogeneous disease with divergent manifestations ranging from asymptomatic subclinical Cushing syndrome (CS) to overt Cushing syndrome with severe complications. ARMC5 mutations occur in 20 to 55% PBMAH patients usually with more severe phenotypes. Different ARMC5 mutations might be associated with diverse phenotypes of PBMAH.Case presentationA 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with progressive weight gain and severe hypertension. He presented typical CS and its classical metabolic and bone complications like hypertension and osteoporosis. The laboratory results showed high levels of cortisol and low levels of ACTH. Low- and high-dosed dexamethasone suppression tests were negative. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple bilateral irregular macronodular adrenal masses. Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) confirmed that the right adrenal gland with larger nodules secreted more hormone that the left side did. Right adrenalectomy and subsequent contralateral subtotal resection were conducted. His blood pressure and CS symptoms as well as comorbidities including backache and muscle weakness improved. Whole exome sequencing identified one ARMC5 germline mutation (c.1855C > T, p. R619*), five ARMC5 somatic mutations (four novel mutations) in his right and left adrenal nodules.ConclusionsThis PBMAH patient was identified with one ARMC5 germline mutation and five different somatic ARMC5 mutations (four novel mutations) in the different nodules of the bilateral adrenal masses. AVS combined with CT imagine could be helpful to determine the dominant side for adrenalectomy. Genetic testing is important for the diagnosis and management of the patient with PBMAH.

Renal Artery Stenosis Complicated with Primary Aldosteronism.

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a typical example of low renin hypertension, whereas renal artery stenosis (RAS) is a classic form of high renin hypertension. PA and RAS occurring simultaneously in a patient is challenging to diagnose. We report a 32-year-old woman with a 12-year history of resistant hypertension. She was identified to have elevated plasma aldosterone and renin levels with normal aldosterone/renin ratio (ARR). Imaging examinations identified bilateral adrenal thickening and subtotal occlusion of the anterior segment of the left renal artery. Adrenal venous sampling was performed and indicated the existence of unilateral aldosterone over-secretion. It may suggest that even though RAS led to non-suppressed renin, adrenal venous sampling remains to be an applicable approach to establish the diagnosis of aldosterone-producing adenomas, although the diagnostic value of ARR may be compromised due to non-suppressed renin level. The patient underwent a two-stage treatment. First, stenosis of the left renal artery was dilated by percutaneous transluminal renal balloon angioplasty. Two months later, laparoscopic complete left adrenalectomy was performed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and CYP11B2 immunostaining suggested that this tumor was an aldosterone-producing adenoma. After the two-stage treatment, her blood pressure decreased to a normal level without antihypertensive drugs. This case report raises our awareness of the simultaneous occurrence of RAS and PA. Under this condition, ARR could lead to a false-negative PA. Adrenal venous sampling is warranted to achieve a confirmed diagnosis. For subjects with complex etiologies of secondary hypertension, multi-stage treatment may be required.

Prevalence of Cortisol Cosecretion in Patients With Primary Aldosteronism: Role of Metanephrine in Adrenal Vein Sampling.

Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the gold standard procedure for subtype diagnosis in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). Cortisol is usually adopted for the normalization of aldosterone levels in peripheral and adrenal samples. However, asymmetrical cortisol secretion can potentially affect the lateralization index, leading to subtype misdiagnosis. We aimed to assess the prevalence of asymmetrical cortisol secretion in patients undergoing AVS and whether variations in adrenal vein cortisol might influence AVS interpretations. We then evaluated the use of metanephrines for the normalization of aldosterone levels for lateralization index. We retrospectively included 101 patients with PA who underwent AVS: 49 patients underwent unstimulated AVS, while 52 patients underwent both unstimulated and cosyntropin-stimulated AVS. Eighty-eight patients had bilateral successful AVS according to metanephrine ratio. We assessed the prevalence of asymmetrical cortisol secretion through the cortisol to metanephrine (C/M) lateralization index (LI). We then evaluated whether the use of aldosterone to metanephrine (A/M) LI can improve the diagnostic accuracy of AVS compared with aldosterone to cortisol (A/C) LI. Asymmetrical cortisol secretion is present in 18% of patients with PA. Diagnosis with A/M LI and A/C LI is discordant in 14% of patients: 9% had a diagnosis of unilateral PA with A/M LI instead of bilateral PA with A/C LI and 5% had a diagnosis of bilateral PA with A/M LI instead of unilateral PA. The assessment of metanephrine levels in AVS is useful for the determination of selectivity and lateralization, allowing an accurate diagnosis, especially in patients with asymmetrical cortisol secretion.

The Adrenal Vein Sampling Outcomes Study (AVOS): success rates following adrenalectomy for unilateral primary aldosteronism

The objective was to determine the clinical and biochemical success rates and assess the nature of follow-up after adrenalectomy in patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism (PA), subtyped by adrenal vein sampling (AVS) in West Australia (WA) using the Primary Aldosteronism Surgical Outcome (PASO) criteria. Clinical and biochemical outcomes were retrospectively evaluated in patients with unilateral PA who underwent adrenalectomy according to AVS between September 2017 and September 2020. Pre- and post-surgical data were collected using a standardised questionnaire, review of clinic letters and examination of private and public pathology results and radiological reports. Follow-up data were available for 47 patients post-adrenalectomy; biochemical outcome data were available for 37 patients, clinical outcome data for 40 patients, with 30 patients having both outcomes available. Final assessment was performed between 0 to 3 months in 23/37 (62.2%) patients with biochemical outcomes, 15/40 (37.5%) with clinical outcomes, and 17/30 (56.7%) with both clinical and biochemical outcomes. Complete biochemical success was achieved in 83.8% (31/37) of patients, with 26.7% (8/30) obtaining both complete clinical and biochemical success. Complete clinical success was achieved in 35.0% (14/40) of patients, with 47.5% (19/40) obtaining partial clinical success. Overall, 93.6% (44/47) of patients derived benefit from adrenalectomy. The outcomes of adrenalectomy for unilateral PA in Western Australian using standardised PASO criteria demonstrate highly comparable clinical and biochemical success rates to international data. However, further standardisation of post-operative follow-up care needs to be implemented to ensure the recommended repeat follow-up assessment criteria are collected.

A Case of ACTH Independent Macronodular Adrenocortical Hyperplasia Presenting with Conns Syndrome

Backgound: ACTH Independent macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (AIMAH)is a rare cause of hyperaldosteronism and is characterised by bilateral adrenal hyperplasia . One of the most common presenting symptoms is refractory hypertension. Clinical features and hypertension usually resolve following adrenalectomy. Timely diagnosis of such conditions are pertinent as they are completely treatable and thus prevents further comorbidities associated with hypertension and hypokalemia like arrhythmia.&#x0D; Case Presentation: A 57 year old male patient presented with unresolved hypertension since 15 years even after treatment with three different antihypertensives drugs since last one year. He was detected with raised serum aldosterone levels. Adrenal venous sampling showed lateralisation to the left adrenal. CT abdomen and pelvis revealed enlarged and nodular left adrenal gland and a bulky right adrenal gland. Laparoscopic left adrenalectomy was performed. Grossly left adrenal showed multiple well circumscribed yellow coloured nodules restricted to the cortex. Microscopy showed multiple well circumscribed unencapsulated nodules comprising of compact cells with clear to vacuolated cytoplasm and round central nucleus along with few foci of myelometaplasia.&#x0D; Conclusion: Conns syndrome causes a high rate of mortality and morbidity of left untreated. Serum aldosterone, serum cortisol and serum electrolyte levels should be carried out in every case of refractory hypertension to rule out adrenocortical lesions. Timely diagnosis goes a long way in reducing morbidities associated with hypertension and dyselectrolytemia.

Different cell compositions and a novel somatic KCNJ5 variant found in a patient with bilateral adrenocortical adenomas secreting aldosterone and cortisol.

This study aimed to explore the possible pathogenesis of a rare case of co-existing Cushing's syndrome (CS) and primary aldosteronism (PA) caused by bilateral adrenocortical adenomas secreting aldosterone and cortisol, respectively. A 41-year-old Chinese woman with severe hypertension and hypokalemia for 5 and 2 years, respectively, was referred to our hospital. She had a Cushingoid appearance. Preoperative endocrinological examinations revealed autonomous cortisol and aldosterone secretion. Computed tomography revealed bilateral adrenal adenomas. Subsequently, adrenal vein sampling and sequential left and right partial adrenalectomy indicated the presence of a left aldosterone-producing tumor and a right cortisol-producing tumor. Pathological examination included immunohistochemical analysis of the resected specimens. Secretions of aldosterone and cortisol were observed both in vivo and in vitro. Further, whole-exome sequencing was performed for DNA that was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes and bilateral adrenal adenomas in order to determine whether the patient had relevant variants associated with PA and CS. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the left adenoma primarily comprised clear cells expressing CYP11B2, whereas the right adenoma comprised both eosinophilic compact and clear cells expressing CYP11B1. The mRNA levels of steroidogenic enzymes (including CYP11B1 and CYP17A1) were high in the right adenoma, whereas CYP11B2 was highly expressed in the left adenoma. A novel somatic heterozygous missense variant-KCNJ5 c.503T > G (p.L168R)-was detected in the left adrenal adenoma, but no other causative variants associated with PA and CS were detected in the peripheral blood or right adrenocortical adenoma. In the primary cell culture of the resected hyperplastic adrenal adenomas, verapamil and nifedipine, which are two calcium channel blockers, markedly inhibited the secretion of both aldosterone and cortisol. We present an extremely rare case of bilateral adrenocortical adenomas with distinct secretion of aldosterone and cortisol. The heterogeneity of the tumor cell compositions of aldosterone- and cortisol-producing adenoma (A/CPA) and somatic mutation of KCNJ5 may have led to different hormone secretions in the bilateral adrenal adenomas.

Superselective adrenal arterial embolization for primary aldosteronism without lateralized aldosterone secretion: an efficacy and safety, proof-of-principle study.

Superselective adrenal arterial embolization (SAAE) appears to be beneficial in primary aldosteronism (PA) patients with lateralized aldosterone secretion (unilateral PA). As confirmed by adrenal vein sampling (AVS), nearly 40% of PA patients would be PA without lateralized aldosterone secretion (bilateral PA). We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of SAAE on bilateral PA. We identified 171 bilateral PA patients from 503 PA patients who completed AVS. Thirty-eight bilateral PA patients received SAAE, and 31 completed a median 12-month clinical follow-up. The blood pressure and biochemical improvements of these patients were carefully analyzed. 34% of patients were identified as bilateral PA. Plasma aldosterone concentration, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone/renin ratio (ARR) were significantly improved 24-h after SAAE. SAAE was associated with 38.7% and 58.6% of complete/partial clinical and biochemical success within a median 12-month follow-up. A significant reduction in left ventricular hypertrophy was shown in patients who obtained complete biochemical success compared with partial/absent biochemical success. SAAE was associated with a more apparent nighttime blood pressure reduction than daytime blood pressure reduction in patients with complete biochemical success. No major adverse safety events related to SAAE were reported during the intraoperative, postoperative, and follow-up periods. SAAE was associated with blood pressure and biochemical improvements in part of bilateral PA and appeared safe. The biochemistry success was accompanied by improved cardiac remodeling and a more prominent decrease in nocturnal blood pressure. This study was part of a trial registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, number ChiCTR2100047689.

NP-59 Scintigraphy for Primary Aldosteronism Lateralization in a Patient With Polycystic Kidney Disease

A 65-year-old-male presented to the endocrine clinic for further evaluation and treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA). His past medical history was notable for polycystic-kidney-disease (PCKD) leading to a kidney-transplantation at age 48, as well as a diagnosis of PA at the age of 52. The patient had initially elected for medical management of PA; thus, PA sub-type-classification was not pursued. Despite treatment with spironolactone and potassium supplements, subsequent blood-pressure control was poor, with progressive renal failure and persistent hypokalemia. Currently, the patient was being prepared for a staged-bilateral-nephrectomy to relieve some of the mass-effect from the giant polycystic-kidneys. The upcoming surgery gave rise to the option of a concomitant adrenalectomy as a potential cure for PA. However, at this point, PA-sub-type classification was quite challenging. Anatomically, the large cysts grossly distorted the retroperitoneum, hiding the adrenal glands from view on CT imaging ( Figure A). Biochemically, adrenal-vein-sampling (AVS) seemed both technically difficult due to the distorted vascular anatomy as well as potentially risky due to the expected prolonged exposure to radio-contrast in a kidney transplant patient pre-existing advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Following a multidisciplinary consultation, NP-59 SPECT/CT was performed (Figure B-D). Very few case reports of PA in patients with PCKD have been reported thus far ((1)Hoorn E.J. Hesselink D.A. Kho M.M. Roodnat J.I. Weimar W. Van Saase J.L. Van Den Meiracker A.H. Zietse R. A case of primary aldosteronism revealed after renal transplantation.Nature Reviews Nephrology. 2011; 7: 55-60Crossref PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar). In the setting of PCKD, a diagnosis of PA may be delayed or missed entirely due to pre-existing alternative explanations for resistant hypertension and CKD. Furthermore, adrenal adenomas may be overlooked on planar imaging due to their small size and distorted abdominal anatomy associated with PCKD. In general, AVS is considered the gold-standard For PA sub-type classification, but in complex cases such as with PCKD, alternative diagnostic methods may be useful. NP-59 (I-131-iodo-cholesterol) is a marker of adrenocortical cholesterol uptake. Dexamethasone-suppression NP-59 scintigraphy has been suggested for the differentiation of PA sub-types, but its use is limited by low resolution allowing for false negatives as well as limited tracer availability ((2)Nomura K, Kusakabe K, Maki M, Ito Y, Aiba M, Demura H. Iodomethylnorcholesterol uptake in an aldosteronoma shown by dexamethasone-suppression scintigraphy: relationship to adenoma size and functional activity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1990 Oct;71(4):825-830. doi: 10.1210/jcem-71-4-825. PMID: 2401712.Google Scholar). The addition of SPECT/CT over planar imaging NP-59 scintigraphy, has been shown to increase sensitivity to 82%, including the detection of aldosterone producing adenomas smaller than 1.5 cm ((3)Yen R.F. Wu V.C. Liu K.L. Cheng M.F. Wu Y.W. Chueh S.C. Lin W.C. Wu K.D. Tzen K.Y. Lu C.C. TAIPAI Study Group131I-6β-iodomethyl-19-norcholesterol SPECT/CT for primary aldosteronism patients with inconclusive adrenal venous sampling and CT results.Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2009; 50: 1631-1637Crossref PubMed Scopus (94) Google Scholar). In our patient, NP-59 SPECT/CT clearly identified a functional left-adrenal cortical adenoma (Figures B-D). Subsequent left adrenalectomy and nephrectomy resulted in normalization of potassium levels and improved blood-pressure control allowing for a reduction in the number of his anti-hypertensive medications. Pathological evaluation identified a 3cm cortical adenoma. Thus, NP-59 SPECT/CT should remain a part of the diagnostic armamentarium, especially for challenging cases of PA sub-type classification.

Abstract No. 271 Identification of Factors Affecting Lateralization Rates of Adrenal Vein Sampling and Post-Adrenalectomy Response: Results from a Center of Excellence for Primary Aldosteronism

Abstract No. 271 Identification of Factors Affecting Lateralization Rates of Adrenal Vein Sampling and Post-Adrenalectomy Response: Results from a Center of Excellence for Primary Aldosteronism

Improving the Visualization of the Adrenal Veins Using Virtual Monoenergetic Images from Dual-Energy Computed Tomography before Adrenal Venous Sampling

(1) Background: This study explored the optimal energy level in advanced virtual monoenergetic images (VMI+) from dual-energy computed tomography angiography (DE-CTA) for adrenal veins visualization before adrenal venous sampling (AVS). (2) Methods: Thirty-nine patients were included in this prospective single-center study. The CT value, noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured in both adrenal veins and abdominal solid organs and were then compared between VMI+ within the range of 40-80 kiloelectron volt (keV). The visualization rate of the adrenal veins and the overall image quality of solid organs were subjectively compared among different keV VMI+. The AVS success rate was recorded for 20 patients. (3) Results: For the adrenal veins, 40 keV VMI+ had the peak CT value, noise and CNR (p < 0.05). Subjectively, the visualization rate was the highest at 40 keV (100% for the right adrenal vein, and 97.4% for the left adrenal vein) (p < 0.05). For solid organs, the CT value, noise and CNR at 50 keV were lower than those at 40 keV (p < 0.05), but the SNR was similar between 40 keV and 50 keV. The overall subjective image quality of solid organs at 50 keV was the best (p < 0.05). The AVS success rate was 95%. (4) Conclusions: For VMI+, 40 keV was the preferential energy level to obtain a high visualization rate of the adrenal veins and a high success rate of AVS, while 50 keV was the favorable energy level for the depiction of abdominal organs.