Addison's and Cushing's and Pheochromocytoma Flashcards
What is the inner layer of the adrenal gland?
Medulla
What is the outer layer of the adrenal gland?
Cortex
What does the adrenal cortex release?
Glucocorticoids, Mineralocorticoids, Androgenic hormones
What does the adrenal medulla release?
Catecholamines
-Epinephrine (heart rate and respiratory rate)
-Norepinehrine (blood pressure)
What are examples of the different steroids in the adrenal cortex?
- Cortisol (stress hormone) and glucose
- Aldosterone
- Estrogen and testosterone
What is the cause of Addison’s disease?
- Hypofunctional adrenal gland
- Autoimmune condition
What are the manifestations of Addison’s in terms of hormones?
Low sugar, salt, androgen, and norepi but high epi
What are the manifestations of low sugar?
- Inability to tolerate stress (cortisol)
- hypoglycemia
- Inability to produce melanin stimulating hormone
What is a common symptoms of Addison’s patients in terms of skin?
Bronze skin
What are the manifestations of low salt?
- Fluid Volume Deficit
- Hyonatremia and Hyerkalemia
- Altered LOC
- Seizure
What are the manifestations of low androgens?
Poor amount of axillary/pubic hair
What is the manifestation of low norepinephrine?
Hypotension
Why does the epinephrine increase instead of decrease?
Acts as a compensatory mechanism
What are the manifestations of Addisonian Crisis?
Tachycardia, tachypnea, hypotension
What is the management of Addisons?
- Reduce stress
- High sodium low potassium diet
What drugs are given to patients with Addisons?
- Prednisone (gluco)
- Fludrocortisone (mineral)
- WOF infection
- take with food
What causes Cushing’s?
High ACTH
1. Tumor
2. Autoimmune condition
What occurs in Cushing’s?
Opposite of Addison’s, everything goes up
What is the manifestation of high sugar?
- Irritability (high cortisol)
- Hyperglycemia
- sluggish blood flow
- risk for infection and fracture
What is manifestation of high salt?
- hypernatremia
- altered LOC
- seizure - Fluid Volume Excess
What are the manifestations of fluid volume excess in cushing’s
- Moon face
- Buffalo hump
- Truncal obesity
- Weight gain
What is the manifestation of high androgen?
- Hirsutism (hair growth in female)
- Gynecomastia
What is the manifestation of high epi and norepi?
Hyertensive crisis (tachycardia, tachypnea, hypertension)
- risk for MI
What is the management of Cushing’s?
- Monitor intake and output
- Weight monitoring
- Monitor for infection (hyperglycemia)
- Low sodium and high potassium diet
