A Pitfall of Falsely Elevated ACTH: A Case Report and Literature Review.

What It Covers

This review looks at ACTH (Corticotropin) and Cosyntropin.

A 35-year-old woman with unintentional weight gain, hyperpigmentation of bilateral palms, and general fatigue was initially suspected of Cushing's syndrome or adrenal insufficiency based on the isolated elevation of the plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level (113.0 pg/mL) in the Siemens ACTH Immulite assay (ACTH [Immulite]).

However, both of the diagnoses were excluded by screening tests including the overnight dexamethasone suppression test, the 24-hour urinary free cortisol excretion, and the ACTH stimulation test in spite of the consistent elevation of the plasma ACTH levels.

Who the Included Studies Covered

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, women only.

What Was Measured

A 35-year-old woman with unintentional weight gain, hyperpigmentation of bilateral palms, and general fatigue was initially suspected of Cushing's syndrome or adrenal insufficiency based on the isolated elevation of the plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level (113.0 pg/mL) in the Siemens ACTH Immulite assay (ACTH [Immulite]).

However, both of the diagnoses were excluded by screening tests including the overnight dexamethasone suppression test, the 24-hour urinary free cortisol excretion, and the ACTH stimulation test in spite of the consistent elevation of the plasma ACTH levels.

The subject headings attached to it are Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Cushing Syndrome.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Cushing’s syndrome immunoassay interference, adrenal insufficiency and heterophilic antibodies.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a review of ACTH (Corticotropin) and Cosyntropin.

The publication is from 2022 (Journal of investigative medicine high impact case reports), a journal based in United States.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page and the Cosyntropin compound page, all human trials.