Diagnostic Value of Bilateral Petrosal Sinus Sampling in Children with Cushing Disease: A Multi-center Study

Although the sensitivity and specificity of bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) were shown to be quite high in adult patients, pediatric studies are limited in number and have conflicting results, since BIPSS is much less commonly performed in children. The aim of this study was to assess the role of BIPSS in the detection and accuracy of lateralization of pituitary adenomas in pediatric patients with Cushing disease (CD) and its possible advantage over other diagnostic methods.

This was a multicenter, nationwide, web-based study. The diagnostic value of BIPSS in 16 patients, aged between four and 16.5 years with a confirmed diagnosis of CD, was evaluated retrospectively. The sensitivity and specificity of BIPSS and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were calculated, and compared statistically.

Standard tests, except for morning cortisol level, were effective in proving the presence of Cushing syndrome. While MRI findings were consistent with microadenoma in eight cases (50%), CD presence and lateralization was successfully predicted in 14 of 16 patients using BIPSS. BIPSS compared with MRI examination was significantly more accurate, both in pre-stimulation and post-stimulation results (p=0.047 and p=0.041, respectively). BIPSS showed a significantly higher sensitivity (92.8%) than MRI in detecting the pituitary source of adrenocorticotropic hormone secretion.

These results suggest that BIPSS is superior to MRI for diagnostic work-up to confirm the diagnosis of CD. Moreover, in line with previous studies, BIPSS was shown to provide better information about adenoma location, which is vital for possible surgical intervention.