Delay in Diagnosis of Adrenal Insufficiency Is a Frequent Cause of Adrenal Crisis

Table 1

Comparison of two groups: with and without crisis at the time of adrenal insufficiency diagnosis.

	Without crisis	With crisis or imminent crisis	𝑃
Number of patients	34	26
Age at diagnosis (years)	39.2 ± 14.7	39.0 ± 13.7	ns
F/M ratio (𝑛/female %)	28/6—82% f	20/6—78% f	ns
Morning cortisol levels (nmol/L)	116.4 ± 36.9	54.5 ± 26.0	0.001
Mean levels of ACTH (pmol/L)	149.1 ± 101.3	220.4 ± 136.4	ns (0.06)
Coexistent elements of aps II (%)	71%	23%	0.01
Treatment by endocrinologist in the past (%)	47%	7%	0.01
Time to diagnosis (months)	5.8 ± 2.8	9.1 ± 3.5	0.05
Body mass loss (kg)	7.0 ± 2.8	10.2 ± 3.5	0.01
Blood sodium concentration (mEq/L)	134.5 ± 3.7	130.7 ± 4.01	0.006
Blood potassium concentration (mEq/L)	4.35 ± 0.3	4.9 ± 0.4	0.001
Positive 21-OHAbs titers (%)	82%	81%	ns