Pheochromocytoma crisis precipitated by dexamethasone with profound lactic acidosis, but without severe hypertension

oleh: David Lin, Jai Madhok, Jason Bouhenguel, Frederick Mihm

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Bioscientifica 2022-11-01

Deskripsi

We describe a case of a 47-year-old patient who presented with severe lactic acidosis, troponinemia, and acute kidney injury after receiving 8 mg of intramuscular dexamethasone for seasonal allergies in the setting of an undiagnosed epinephrine-secreting pheochromocytoma. This case was atypical, however, in that the patient exhibited only mildly elevated noninvasive measured blood pressures. Following a period of alpha-adrenergic blockade, the tumor was resected successfully. Steroid administration can precipitate pheochromocytoma crisis that may present unusually as in our patient with mild hypertension but profound lactic acidosis.