[Acute adreno-cortical insufficiency. Eight case-reports (author's transl)]

Four female and four male adults, with acute adrenocortical insufficiency were admitted to a medical intensive care unit over a period of five years (1975-1980). Three of them were under treatment for Addison's disease. The clinical picture combines fever with signs of shock and dehydration. Increased pigmentation of the skin and laboratory data suggest the diagnosis, which is established by the serum cortisol assay. The etiology was tuberculosis in four patients. Cortical retraction was found in three others. One case followed interruption of non-substitutive corticotherapy. After 48 hours of adéquate therapy, all patients had recovered.