hormonal and metabolic disorders
Adrenal Insufficiency
Diagnosis of Adrenal Insufficiency
Blood tests Because the symptoms may start slowly and subtly, and because no single laboratory test may give definitive results in the early stages, doctors often do not suspect adrenal insufficiency at the outset. Sometimes a major stress makes the symptoms more obvious and precipitates a crisis. Blood tests may show low sodium and high potassium levels and usually indicate that the kidneys are not working well. Doctors who suspect adrenal insufficiency measurecortisollevels, which may be low, and ACTH levels. ACTH levels tend to be high in primary adrenal insufficiency and low in secondary adrenal insufficiency. However, doctors may need to confirm the diagnosis by measuringcortisollevels before and after an injection of a synthetic form of ACTH. Ifcortisollevels are low, further tests are needed to determine if the problem is Addison disease or secondary adrenal insufficiency. 