New Aldosteronism Clinical Practice Guidelines

The Endocrine Society has released new clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of primary aldosteronism.

Dr. John Funder, Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Australia, chaired the task force that developed these new guidelines. Funder found that recent research shows a higher prevalence of primary aldosteronism, particularly among hypertensive patients. “The new guideline uses the best available research to help physicians diagnose primary aldosteronism and employ specific treatments that can alleviate the impact of this condition,” said Funder.

The new guideline recommends finding the ratio of aldosterone to renin as a means of detecting primary aldosteronism, particularly among high-risk hypertensive patients and those with potassium deficiency.

According to a press release from The Endocrine Society, “If PA is confirmed, the guideline recommends that patients undergo adrenal computed tomography (CT) to exclude adrenocorticol carcinoma, followed by radiographic lateralization to determine whether PA is due to unilateral or bilateral oversecretion. Lateralization is important because if only one of the two adrenal glands is responsible for oversecretion PA is best treated by laparoscopic surgery to remove the overproducing adrenal gland.”

For further details, click here. The full guidelines are scheduled to be released in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology.