Characteristics of adrenal lesions in unilateral primary aldosteronism: a prospective study
10.3760/cma.j.cn112330-20250407-00138
- VernacularTitle:单侧原发性醛固酮增多症肾上腺病灶特点分析：一项前瞻性研究
- Author:
Wei ZHANG
1
;
Yi YANG
;
Junlong LI
;
Jiayu LI
;
Yao ZHANG
;
Youlin KUANG
;
Weiyang HE
;
Linqiang MA
;
Ying SONG
;
Jinbo HU
;
Shumin YANG
;
Qifu LI
Author Information
1. 重庆医科大学附属第一医院内分泌内科 代谢性血管疾病川渝共建重点实验室/ 重大代谢性疾病转化医学重点实验室，重庆 400016
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Hyperaldosteronism;
Primary;
Unilateral;
Aldosterone synthase;
Multiple nodules;
Computed tomography
- From:
Chinese Journal of Urology
2025;46(7):537-543
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of adrenal lesions in unilateral primary aldosteronism.Methods:This is a prospective study. Consecutive patients diagnosed with unilateral primary aldosteronism at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from December 2023 to November 2024 were included. Inclusion criteria：① Age is 18 to 80 years old；② The laboratory test indicators are in line with the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism；③ The auxiliary examination proved that only one side was involved；④ Patient undergo unilateral total adrenalectomy. The exclusion criteria are as follows：① Complete biochemical remission was not achieved during the 1-6 month follow-up after the surgery；② Postoperative loss to follow-up；③ No surgical specimens were received or the surgical specimens were incomplete，making continuous sectioning impossible. Patients meeting the inclusion criteria were recruited，and their clinical and biochemical data were recorded. The number of adrenal nodules visible on CT scans and the number of macroscopically visible nodules in the postoperative adrenal gross specimens were documented. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE）staining and aldosterone synthase CYP11B2 immunohistochemical staining were performed on the adrenal tissues after the operation. The number of nodules visible under the light microscope and the number of CYP11B2-positive nodules were recorded.Results:A total of 114 cases were included in this study. The age of the patients was（49.86 ± 9.80）years，the body mass index was（25.49 ± 3.40）kg/m2，the preoperative aldosterone level was 352（2012，556）pg/ml，and the direct renin concentration was 1.63（0.50，4.56）μIU/ml. The aldosterone/renin ratio was 224.9（57.1，641.6）（aldosterone concentration unit was pg/ml，renin concentration unit was μIU/ml），the minimum blood potassium concentration was 2.87（2.50，3.40）mmol/L，and the systolic blood pressure was（144.5 ± 19.5）mmHg. Among the 114 patients，105 had adrenal nodules detected by preoperative CT，of whom 2（1.75%）had multiple nodules. Postoperative gross adrenal specimen evaluation and CYP11B2 immunohistochemical staining revealed that 90 out of 114 cases were solitary nodules，2 cases had no nodules，and 22 cases（19.30%）had multiple nodules detected（17 cases had 2 nodules and 5 cases had 3 nodules）. Among them，12 cases（10.53%）presented as grossly visible multinodular lesions，while 10 cases（8.77%）appeared as solitary nodules macroscopically but demonstrated multinodular patterns on immunohistochemical staining. CYP11B2 staining showed that among the 22 patients with multiple nodules，13 had multiple CYP11B2-positive nodules，while the remaining had only one positive nodule. Among the 22 patients with multiple nodules，preoperative CT showed single nodules in 19 cases，hyperplasia in 1 case，and multiple nodules in 2 cases（9.09%）. Among the 12 patients with grossly visible multinodular lesions，preoperative CT showed single nodules in 9 cases，hyperplasia in 1 case，and multiple nodules in 2 cases（16.67%）.Conclusions:Multiple adrenal nodules associated with unilateral primary aldosteronism are relatively common，and are often not detected by preoperative CT examination. Partial adrenalectomy based solely on CT-visible nodules may fail to achieve complete remission of primary aldosteronism. This study provides evidence supporting total adrenalectomy as the preferred surgical approach for unilateral primary aldosteronism.
