Retrospective evaluation of pheochromocytoma patients detected in the endocrinology and metabolic diseases polyclinic between 2000-2021

Objective: It was aimed to evaluate the demographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma, laboratory values at the time of diagnosis and follow-up, clinical symptoms, treatment methods and response rates after treatment. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma who applied to the Endocrinology and Metabolism Diseases Polyclinic of Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine between 2000-2021 were included in the study. Demographic characteristics of the patients, laboratory values and clinical features at the time of diagnosis and follow-up, and the selected treatment methods were analyzed retrospectively. Findings: 67.3% of the patients were female and 32.7% were male. The mean age of the cases at the time of diagnosis was 46.1 years. The most common presentation of the patients was palpitation (46.9%). At the time of diagnosis, 81.2% of the patients had hypertension, 33.3% had diabetes mellitus, 4.2% had cardiovascular disease, and 4.2% had a history of malignancy. 18% of the patients were evaluated as normotensive. Among the patients with hypertension, 43.8% had a previous diagnosis of hypertension, while the 36.7% group had just been diagnosed with hypertension. Blood pressure was under control with anti-hypertensive treatment in 52.1% of the patients in the hypertension group. On the other hand, 47.9% of the patients with hypertension were in the form of attacks and had a hypertensive course. The tumor size of the patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma was 51.75 ± 34.2 mm. While 42.8% of the patients were operated laparoscopically, laparotomy was performed in 57.2% of them. While the mean tumor size in patients who underwent laparoscopy was 44mm, this figure was 57.5mm in patients who underwent laparotomy. After all treatment regimens, 91% of the patients were in remission. Results: In our study, the characteristics of patients with pheochromocytoma were generally found to be similar to those in the literature. Early diagnosis of the disease is important in terms of treatment and response to treatment, and reduction of comorbidities. Pheochromocytoma should be kept in mind as a preliminary diagnosis, especially in patients with hypertension starting at a young age and in cases of resistant hypertension.