Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36237184›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in endocrinology2022

Case report: Incidentally discovered case of pheochromocytoma as a cause of long COVID-19 syndrome.

Christian G Ziegler, Carina Riediger, Matthias Gruber, Carola Kunath, Martin Ullrich, Jens Pietzsch, Svenja Nölting, Timo Siepmann, Stefan R Bornstein, Hanna Remde and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Christian G ZieglerDepartment of Molecular Endocrinology and Diabetology, Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Carina RiedigerDepartment of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Matthias GruberDepartment of Endocrinology, Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Carola KunathDepartment of Endocrinology, Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Martin UllrichHelmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Department of Radiopharmaceutical and Chemical Biology, Dresden, Germany.
Jens PietzschHelmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Department of Radiopharmaceutical and Chemical Biology, Dresden, Germany.
Svenja NöltingDepartment of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Timo SiepmannDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Stefan R BornsteinDepartment of Molecular Endocrinology and Diabetology, Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Hanna RemdeDivision of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Georgiana ConstantinescuDepartment of Endocrinology, Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
TU Dresden · DEHelmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf · DEUniversity Hospital Carl Gustav Carus · DEUniversity of Würzburg · DEUniversity of Zurich · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pheochromocytomas (PCCs) are rare but potentially lethal tumors that arise from the adrenal medulla. The clinical suspicion and diagnosis of PCC can be challenging due to the non-specific nature of signs and symptoms. In many patients, infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could lead to long-term symptoms including fatigue, headaches, and cognitive dysfunction. Here, we present the case of a patient incidentally diagnosed with an adrenal mass that proved to be a PCC after imaging was performed due to persisting complaints after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. A 37-year-old male patient was referred to our center because of a right-sided inhomogeneous adrenal mass, incidentally found during a computed tomographic scan of the thorax performed due to cough and dyspnea that persisted after COVID-19 infection. Other complaints that were present prior to COVID-19 infection included profuse sweating, dizziness, exhaustion with chronic fatigue, and concentration difficulties. The patient had no history of hypertension, his blood pressure was normal, and the 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring confirmed normotension but with the absence of nocturnal dipping. Plasma normetanephrine was 5.7-fold above the upper limit (UL) of reference intervals (738 pg/ml, UL = 129 pg/ml), whereas plasma metanephrine and methoxytyramine were normal at 30 pg/ml (UL = 84 pg/ml) and <4 pg/ml (UL = 16 pg/ml), respectively. Preoperative preparation with phenoxybenzamine was initiated, and a 4-cm tumor was surgically resected. Profuse sweating as well as dizziness was resolved after adrenalectomy pointing toward PCC and not COVID-19-associated patient concerns. Altogether, this case illustrates the difficulties in recognizing the possibility of PCC due to the non-specific nature of signs and symptoms of the tumor, which in this case did not include hypertension and coincided with some of the symptoms of long COVID-19.

Indexed as

Adrenal Gland NeoplasmsCOVID-19HypertensionPheochromocytomaAdultBlood Pressure Monitoring, AmbulatoryDizzinessHumansMaleMetanephrineNormetanephrinePhenoxybenzaminePost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2MetanephrineNormetanephrinePhenoxybenzaminecomplicationsdiagnostic delaypheochromocytoma (PCC)plasma metanephrinespost COVID-19severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Identifiers

PMID36237184
PMCPMC9551989
OpenAlexW4297370541

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.