-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
N. Sevastos, G. Theodossiades, S. Malaktari, A. J. Archimandritis, Persistent Neutrophilia as a Preceding Symptom of Pheochromocytoma, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 90, Issue 4, 1 April 2005, Page 2472, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2004-0378
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
To the editor:
Sawka et al. (1) and Kudva et al. (2) have discussed several options when testing for pheochromocytoma according to the clinical or radiological findings in each case. Furthermore, it is known that catecholamines and cortisol can provoke neutrophilia in healthy and diseased individuals (3, 4). Although a marked neutrophilia in a case of pheochromocytoma with ectopic secretion of ACTH has been described (5), this laboratory finding is not mentioned in an epidemiological study of the tumor (6). We present two cases with persistent neutrophilia as the preceding symptom of pheochromocytoma.
The first case was that of a 56-yr-old male with persistent neutrophilia for 3 yr. In a routine laboratory test, this patient was found to have an elevated white blood cell count up to 12–14 × 109/liter (neutrophils, 76–80%) without any evidence of acute or chronic illness as determined by extensive work-up in two hospitalizations in tertiary hospitals. Two years later, the patient developed diabetes mellitus, and per os antidiabetic treatment with glibenclamide was started. In the subsequent 6 months, he developed two hypoglycemic episodes and antidiabetic treatment was stopped, but he developed hypertension. During the third hospitalization for further investigation, a pheochromocytoma of the right adrenal gland was found, for which the patient underwent surgery. Postoperatively, the elevated white blood cell count and glucose and blood pressure levels returned to normal.
