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Article
Adrenal Cushing Syndrome Diagnosed during Pregnancy: Successful Medical Management with Metyrapone
Journal of the Endocrine Society
  • Alescia Azzola, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Genevieve Eastabrook, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Doreen Matsui, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Amanda Berberich, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Rommel G. Tirona, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Daryl Gray, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Patricia Gallego, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Stan Van Uum, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1210/jendso/bvaa167
Abstract

Adrenal Cushing syndrome during pregnancy is rare, and there is limited information on the effect and safety of metyrapone treatment both for mother and fetus. We present a 24-year-old woman diagnosed with adrenal Cushing syndrome at the end of the second trimester. We elected treatment with metyrapone titrated to 250 mg 3 times daily, resulting in good clinical response and maternal serum and saliva cortisol levels in the upper half of the normal pregnancy range. A healthy male infant was born at 35 weeks' gestation, with no clinical signs of adrenal insufficiency, this despite a low cortisol of 5 nmol/L on the first day of life. We measured metyrapone in maternal and umbilical cord blood samples, demonstrating fetal venous metyrapone levels similar to maternal venous concentration, and a fetal arterial cord concentration at about 60% of the fetal venous cord concentration. This case demonstrates that salivary cortisol levels may be used to monitor the effect of metyrapone on adrenal Cushing syndrome during pregnancy. We show, for the first time in humans, that metyrapone does cross the placenta and may suppress fetal cortisol production without necessarily causing clinical signs of adrenal insufficiency.

Citation Information
Alescia Azzola, Genevieve Eastabrook, Doreen Matsui, Amanda Berberich, et al.. "Adrenal Cushing Syndrome Diagnosed during Pregnancy: Successful Medical Management with Metyrapone" Journal of the Endocrine Society Vol. 5 Iss. 1 (2021) p. 1 - 6
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/patricia-gallego/8/