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Updated: Nov 26, 2025
A Novel Method: Super-selective Adrenal Venous Sampling
Published on: September 15, 2017
Volumetric Modeling of Adrenal Gland Size in Primary Bilateral Macronodular Adrenocortical Hyperplasia
Rachel Wurth1, Amit Tirosh2, Crystal D C Kamilaris1
1Section on Endocrinology & Genetics (SEGEN), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
Context:
Radiological characterization of adrenal size in primary bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (PBMAH) has not been previously investigated.
Objective:
We hypothesized that volumetric modeling of adrenal gland size may correlate with biochemical disease severity in patients with PBMAH. Secondary analysis of patients with concurrent primary aldosteronism (PA) was performed.
Design:
A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 44 patients with PBMAH was conducted from 2000 to 2019.
Setting:
Tertiary care clinical research center.
Patients:
Patients were diagnosed with PBMAH based upon clinical, genetic, radiographic and biochemical characteristics.
Intervention:
Clinical, biochemical, and genetic data were obtained. Computed tomography scans were used to create volumetric models by manually contouring both adrenal glands in each slice using Vitrea Core Fx v6.3 software (Vital Images, Minnetonka, Minnesota).
Main Outcome And Measures:
17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHS), ARMC5 genetics, and aldosterone-to-renin ratio (ARR) were retrospectively obtained. Pearson test was used for correlation analysis of biochemical data with adrenal volume.
Results:
A cohort of 44 patients with PBMAH was evaluated, with a mean age (±SD) of 53 ± 11.53. Eight patients met the diagnostic criteria for PA, of whom 6 (75%) were Black. In the Black cohort, total adrenal volumes positively correlated with midnight cortisol (R = 0.76, P = 0.028), urinary free cortisol (R = 0.70, P = 0.035), and 17-OHS (R = 0.87, P = 0.0045), with a more pronounced correlation with left adrenal volume alone. 17-OHS concentration positively correlated with total, left, and right adrenal volume in patients harboring pathogenic variants in ARMC5 (R = 0.72, P = 0.018; R = 0.65, P = 0.042; and R = 0.73, P = 0.016, respectively).
Conclusions:
Volumetric modeling of adrenal gland size may associate with biochemical severity in patients with PBMAH, with particular utility in Black patients.
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