Yeungnam Univ J Med.  2021 Jan;38(1):60-64. 10.12701/yujm.2020.00290.

Cushing syndrome in pregnancy, diagnosed after delivery

• Kim HB
• Kim MK
• Kim E
• Ahn KS
• Kim HS
• Kim NK

• KMID: 2512068
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2020.00290

Abstract

Cushing syndrome (CS) is rare in pregnancy, and few cases have been reported to date. Women with untreated CS rarely become pregnant because of the ovulatory dysfunction induced by hypercortisolism. It is difficult to diagnose CS in pregnancy because of its very low incidence, the overlap between the clinical signs of hypercortisolism and the physiological changes that occur during pregnancy and the changes in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity that occur during pregnancy and limit the value of standard diagnostic testing. However, CS in pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and fetal outcomes; therefore, its early diagnosis and treatment are important. Here, we report two patients with CS that was not diagnosed during pregnancy, in whom maternal and fetal morbidity developed because of hypercortisolism.

Keyword

Complication; Cushing syndrome; Hypercortisolism; Pregnancy

Figure

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  Fig. 1. (A) Abdominal computed tomography reveals a 35×28 mm, hypoattenuating mass (arrow) in the right adrenal gland. (B) The excised right adrenal gland shows a well circumscribed, yellowish mass.

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  Fig. 2. (A) Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging shows a 3×4×6 mm, hypointense nodule (arrow) in the left side of the pituitary gland. (B) The intraoperative photograph shows a grayish pink nodule (arrow) in the left side of the pituitary gland.

Reference

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