Clinical Biochemistry- Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clinical Biochemistry- Case Study - Essay Example The result of short ACTH stimulation test and random serum cortisol levels confirm this suspicion. Upon doing a CT scan, adrenal glands are small, atrophic, and calcified. The damage may have been caused by an autoimmune disease or secondary to diseases such as Histoplasma, Coccidiodes, Tuberculosis infections, metastases, lymphomas, hemorrhage, amyloid, sarcoid, and hemochromatosis, to which the patient is currently suffering or has already been freed from. To see whether the adrenal gland disorder is autogenic, presence of adrenocortical autoantibodies is assayed. None were detected. When thorax of the patient underwent CT scan, both lungs are fibrous, and the right apex has calcifications. The fibrotic scars and the calcified right apex cavity are indications of a previous Tuberculosis infection. Because no respiratory problems were identified, the infection has already been resolved. Because Tuberculosis is common in Third World countries, and was still one of the leading causes of mortality during the 1950s, the patient may have been infected during her stay at Kenya when sh e worked as a missionary. Four months prior to consult, the patient felt similar symptoms, and was then found to be hyponatremic, hyperkalemic and hypoglycaemic. No further tests were reported to have been performed at that time. Plan: Therapy involves hormonal replacement. Oral corticosteroids such as Fludrocortisones (Florinef) to replace aldosterone, and Hydrocortisone (Cortef), prednisone, and cortisone acetate to replace cortisol may be provided. Corticosteroid injections may also be an option, especially during Addisonian crisis, when blood pressure drops together with a decrease in blood sugar and an increase in serum potassium levels. Unlike Cushing’s syndrome, which involves an increase in the levels of adrenal gland hormones, Addison’s disease is an illness in which the adrenal glands are damages, thereby decreasing