Application value of adrenal venous sampling in the surgical treatment of primary aldosteronism

The diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA) is critical for determining treatment strategies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical value of preoperative adrenal venous sampling (AVS) for determining the benefit of PA surgery. Patients diagnosed with PA at Liaocheng People's Hospital (Liaocheng, China) between January 2015 and December 2020 were selected and divided into two groups: Group A underwent adrenal computed tomography (CT) only, whereas Group B underwent adrenal CT and successful AVS. Subsequently, the improvement rate of adrenal CT and adrenal CT + AVS in the treatment of PA was compared. A total of 164 patients were included, with an average age of 46.69±13.64 years. There were 62 patients in Group A and 102 in Group B. Among the patients diagnosed with unilateral lesions on adrenal CT scan, 82.61% of patients in group A and 87.72% in group B showed improvement; however, the difference was not significant (χ²=0.534, P=0.465). Among the patients diagnosed with bilateral lesions on adrenal CT images, 62.50% of patients in Group A and 91.11% of patients in Group B showed improvement (P=0.019). In conclusion, unilateral adrenal lesions detected by CT did not benefit significantly from surgical decision-making after AVS. AVS should be advised for all patients with bilateral adrenal PA who are willing to undergo adrenal surgery, which is conducive to correct lateral segmentation and improve treatment choices.