Medical management of adrenal disease: a narrative review.

Adrenal diseases comprise for a variety of medical endocrine issues, ranging from partial or complete gland insufficiency, to several kinds of adrenal hyperfunction, either of congenital or neoplastic etiology. For hypofunction of the adrenals (partial or complete) the treatment of choice is medical; the mainstay of treatment is hydrocortisone. Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency are treated with glucocorticoids to control androgen excess. Most benign neoplastic adrenal diseases that cause hyperfunction of the gland are surgically treated, however this may not be always feasible or effective. For Cushing's syndrome ketoconazole controls cortisol's hypersecretion, whereas in case of bilateral idiopathic hyperaldosteronism spironolactone controls hypokalemia and hypertension. For neoplastic adrenomedullary disease surgery is the treatment of choice; medical treatment is used preoperatively (mainly alpha blockers) and in case of disease persistence and /or recurrence (mainly metyrosine). For malignant adrenocortical disease, surgical removal remains the indicated treatment, but if the potential for surgical intervention is limited due to tumor extension, medical treatment can alleviate symptoms of hormone hypersecretion; mitotane in selected patients has good results.