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An Aid in the Differential Diagnosis of Essential Hypertension and Pheochromocytoma

RICHARD J. HENRY, M.D.; CHARLES SOBEL, B.S.

AMA Arch Intern Med. 1957;100(2):196-200.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The classical description of patients with pheochromocytoma includes, as typical symptoms, paroxysmal hypertension, pallor, sweating, and tachycardia. It is now known that only a minority of patients exhibit such symptoms.^1,2 The majority of cases manifest only a persistent hypertension and are difficult to differentiate from cases of essential hypertension. The proportion of pheochromocytomas among cases of hypertension, while small, is significant. Graham ³ encountered 8 cases, or 0.47%, of pheochromocytoma among 1700 unselected patients with hypertension subjected to bilateral lumbodorsal splanchnicectomy. If this percentage is correct, approximately 1 out of every 200 cases of hypertension involves a pheochromocytoma. It thus becomes important to have a highly specific method for the diagnosis of the latter disease.

The pharmacologic tests, such as the histamine, benzodioxane, and phentolamine (Regitine) tests, are known to yield both false-negative and false-positive tests.^1,4,5 Since Engel and von Euler⁶ first pointed out in 1950 the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Los Angeles

From Bio-Science Laboratories.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Feb. 16, 1957.

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