Acute adrenal crisis

Alternative names:

acute adrenal insufficiency; Addisonian crisis; adrenal crisis

Symptoms:

• headache
• profound weakness
• fatigue
• slow, sluggish, lethargic movement
• nausea
• vomiting
• low blood pressure
• dehydration
• high fever
• chills shaking
• confusion or coma
• darkening of the skin (see skin, abnormally dark or light)
• rapid heart rate
• joint pain
• abdominal pain
• unintentional weight loss
• rapid respiratory rate (see tachypnea)
• unusual and excessive sweating on face and/or palms
• skin rash or lesion may be present
• flank pain
• appetite, loss

Signs and tests:

• An ACTH (cortrosyn) stimulation test shows low cortisol.
• The cortisol level is low.
• The fasting blood sugar may be low.
• The serum potassium is elevated.
• The serum sodium is decreased.

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

• sodium, urine
• 17-hydroxycorticosteroids