Diagnosis of Hypertension of Adrenal and Renal Origin

Among a series of patients with hypertension, between 1942 and 1959, there were 54 whose cases were classified as adrenal or renal and considered amenable to surgery. There were 22 patients with pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas, 15 with unilateral renal disease, 10 with primary aldosteronism, and 7 with adrenal cortical hyperfunction. Diagnostic criteria included certain physical characteristics, postural hypotension, urine of low specific gravity and high pH, low serum potassium levels, and functional disparities between the two kidneys. The diagnostic tests generally afforded a satisfactory basis for choosing between medical and surgical treatment, and in this series the results of surgery were gratifying.