eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: General Medicine > Endocrinology
Pseudohypoaldosteronism: Differential Diagnoses & Workup
Updated: Jul 11, 2008
- Overview
- Differential Diagnoses & Workup
- Treatment & Medication
- Follow-up
Differential Diagnoses
Other Problems to Be Considered
Addison disease
Chronic renal failure
Isolated hypoaldosteronism
Nephronophthisis
Obstructive uropathy
Salt-wasting nephropathies
Workup
Laboratory Studies
- Renal pseudohypoaldosteronism type I
- The clinical characteristics of pseudohypoaldosteronism type I (PHA-I) are those of hypoaldosteronism (ie, hyponatremia, hyperkalemic metabolic acidosis, hyper-reninemia, and renal salt wasting).
- Diagnosis is made by demonstrating inappropriately high urinary sodium losses in the presence of hyponatremia, decreased urinary potassium excretion, normal GFR, normal adrenal function, and increased levels of aldosterone and renin.
- Hyponatremia is usually present but may be masked by hemoconcentration.
- Hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis are typically present despite a normal GFR. Plasma potassium concentration varies from moderately to greatly increased values.
- Occasionally, hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis have also been described.
- The only biochemical abnormality in patients with early childhood hyperkalemia is the presence of hyperkalemia and hyperchloremic (nonanion gap) metabolic acidosis. Azotemia and sodium chloride wasting are notably absent.
- Multiple target organ defects pseudohypoaldosteronism type I
- Urinary salt wastage, as in renal PHA-I, is characteristic of multiple target organ defects (MTOD) PHA-I.
- Salt wastage can occur from the salivary glands, sweat glands, and colon.
- A variant of MTOD PHA-I has been described in the literature with salt wastage limited to sweat and salivary glands without associated renal salt wasting.
- Pseudohypoaldosteronism type II
- Hyperkalemia, hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis, and normal GFR are present with low aldosterone and renin levels.
- Sodium wasting is absent, in contrast to renal PHA-I and mineralocorticoid deficient states.
- Patients with PHA have hyperkalemia and decreased renal potassium excretion in the absence of glomerular insufficiency. Children with the chloride shunt syndrome (Spitzer-Weinstein syndrome) are typically hyperkalemic at presentation. Potassium excretion responds to sodium sulfate infusion but not to sodium chloride infusion.
- Serum bicarbonate concentration is typically low, but this is a more variable finding in children and is observed in only one half of cases.
- Hypercalciuria has usually been overlooked as a biochemical feature of this disorder, although its presence has been recognized occasionally.
- Nephrolithiasis is unusual.
- Secondary pseudohypoaldosteronism: The clinical presentation in children is that of renal tubular resistance to aldosterone (ie, hyponatremia, hyperkalemia, and metabolic acidosis).
Imaging Studies
- Chest radiography may reveal an increased volume of liquid in the airways in patients with MTOD PHA-I, secondary to failure to absorb liquid from airway surfaces. These findings mimic cystic fibrosis
- Renal ultrasonography may show nephrocalcinosis in patients with PHA-I and nephrolithiasis in patients with PHA-II.
Other Tests
- Renal pseudohypoaldosteronism type I
- Overall renal function is normal.
- Plasma aldosterone concentration, urinary aldosterone excretion, and PRA are usually elevated.
- Plasma deoxycorticosterone and corticosterone concentrations are within the reference range.
- The ratio of plasma 18-hydroxycorticosterone to aldosterone is within the reference range.
- The ratio of urinary excretion of tetrahydroaldosterone to 18-hydroxytetrahydro-compound A is within the reference range in contrast to primary hypoaldosteronism.
- Sweat and salivary sodium and chloride determinations are characteristically normal.
- Children with the early childhood hyperkalemia variant of renal PHA-I have consistently normal or elevated PRA and 24-hour urinary aldosterone excretion. Functional evaluation reveals a normal ability to acidify the urine, low ammonium and potassium excretion, and a mild defect in bicarbonate reabsorption (ie, functional markers of type IV RTA). Renal bicarbonate wasting can be observed with high-dose alkali therapy, but, in contrast to type II proximal RTA, associated kaluria is not observed. In contrast to type I and II RTA, this subtype has no hypercalciuria but, rather, a relative hyper-reabsorption of calcium and a high urinary citrate excretion; thus, nephrocalcinosis is absent.
- Multiple target organ defects pseudohypoaldosteronism type I
- Urinary sodium is typically elevated.
- Sweat and salivary sodium concentrations are elevated, and active sodium transport in the rectal mucosa is impaired.
- Pseudohypoaldosteronism type II
- Renin and aldosterone levels are low to normal; renin and aldosterone levels increase if volume expansion is corrected by diuretics or salt restriction. Although aldosterone levels may be within the reference range in some cases, they are probably not appropriately elevated for the degree of hyperkalemia.
- Renal concentration and dilution are normal.
- Fractional excretion of bicarbonate (FE HCO3) is normal.
- Urinary acidification after an ammonium chloride load is normal; however, most patients have a marked reduction in urinary acid excretion and in net acid excretion.
- Secondary pseudohypoaldosteronism: Plasma aldosterone concentration is elevated, and fractional sodium excretion may be inappropriately high.
Histologic Findings
- Renal biopsy findings in PHA-I are usually normal; however, hypertrophy of the juxtaglomerular apparatus has been occasionally reported.
More on Pseudohypoaldosteronism |
| Overview: Pseudohypoaldosteronism |
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pseudohypoaldosteronism |
| Treatment & Medication: Pseudohypoaldosteronism |
| Follow-up: Pseudohypoaldosteronism |
| References |
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Further Reading
Keywords
pseudohypoaldosteronism, PHA, pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, PHA-I, Cheek and Perry syndrome, renal pseudohypoaldosteronism type I, AD renal PHA-I, multiple target organ pseudohypoaldosteronism, MTOD PHA-I, autosomal recessive PHA-I, AR PHA-I, early childhood hyperkalemia, renal tubular acidosis subtypes 4 and 5, RTA, pseudohypoaldosteronism type II, PHA-II, Gordon syndrome, adolescent hyperkalemic syndrome, Spitzer-Weinstein syndrome, mineralocorticoid-resistant hyperkalemia, renal tubular acidosis type IV subtype 3, metabolic acidosis, hypervolemia, renal salt wasting, hypotension, hypertension, chloride shunt syndrome, renal tube defects, short stature, urolithiasis, obstructive uropathy, urinary tract infection, tubulointerstitial nephritis, sickle cell nephropathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, amyloidosis, neonatal medullary necrosis, unilateral renal vein thrombosis, failure to thrive, adolescent hyperkalemic syndrome
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pseudohypoaldosteronism