Concurrent illness and complications associated with canine hyperadrenocorticism

Spontaneous canine hyperadrenocorticism is a disorder caused by the excessive production of cortisol by the adrenal cortex. Without treatment, hyperadrenocorticism is generally progressive with an unfavorable prognosis. Many factors, however, influence prognosis, including rate of progression, severity, and underlying cause. In untreated hyperadrenocorticism, death may result from metastasis of an adrenocortical carcinoma, growth of a pituitary tumor, or most commonly from complications associated with sustained hypercortisolism itself such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, thromboembolism, glucose intolerance, and increased susceptibility to infection. This chapter will discuss the origin, diagnosis and, in some cases, treatment of the many complications associated with hyperadrenocorticism in the dog.