Síndrome poliglandular autoinmune tipo 2 presentándose como emergencia endócrina - a propósito de un caso

Polyglandular autoimmune syndromes are a rare and heterogeneous group of endocrine diseases characterized by autoimmune dysfunction of one or more endocrine glands, even though non-endocrine organs can also be affected. The two major autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes, type 1 and type 2, present Addison’s Disease as a prominent component, although adrenal gland dysfunction is not usually the first manifestation. Autoimmune disorders of the endocrine glands are often regarded as the “tip of the iceberg” since they most often coexist with other autoimmune diseases, which may not be apparent at first sight. The authors report the clinical case of a 56 year old woman admitted to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, hyponatremia and hyperkalemia, whose etiological investigation led to the diagnosis of Polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type 2.