[Slow computerized tomography in the study of the adrenal glands]

Computed tomographies (CT) of 32 patients with suspected adrenal disease and of 20 patients without evidence of adrenal disease performed with an 18 s scan time scanner, were reviewed. The results of a study of the normal adrenals in the coronal and sagittales planes, with the electronical reconstruction, are presented. Surgical proof was available in 11 patients. CT correctly identified 1 cortisol-producing adenoma, 1 aldosterone-producing adenoma, 4 pheocromocitomas and 2 carcinomas, but only 1 of the 3 hyperplasias. The CT rule and the usefulness of the coronal and sagittal reconstruction in the diagnosis of adrenal disease are discussed.