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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
A Convenient Method for Extraction and Analysis with High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography of Catecholamine Neurotransmitters and Their Metabolites
Published on: March 1, 2018
[Usefulness of the clonidine test for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma]
J D Mediavilla García1, L León-Ruiz, C Hidalgo Tenorio
1Unidad de Hipertensión Arterial y Lípidos, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada.
Background:
The clonidine test has been proposed as diagnostic biochemical test for patients with clinical suspicion of pheochromocytoma.
Methods:
The clonidine test was used in 80 patients with suspicion of pheochromocytoma (on account of suggestive clinical findings, increased levels of metanephrines, increased plasma or urinary levels of catecholamines, or suggestive images by ultrasonography or CT).
Results:
Surgery confirmed the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in 16 patients. The highest sensitivity (62%) and specificity (46%) of the clonidine test corresponded to a brake degree of 5%, with a predictive negative value of 83%. The test was most useful in patients with increased basal plasma values of catecholamines (sensitivity, 62%; specificity, 66%).
Conclusions:
The clonidine test can be useful for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in patients with increased basal plasma levels of catecholamines and a brake degree lower than 5% at 180 minutes.
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