This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Most cases are iatrogenic, resulting from the therapeutic administration of supraphysiological doses of glucocorticosteroids or adrenocortiocotrophin.

Spontaneous Cushing's syndrome may be due to:

  • Cushing's disease - 66% of such causes
  • ectopic ACTH secretion - 11% - most frequently asssociated with small cell carcinoma of the bronchus; less often, carcinoid tumours of the lungs, thymus, pancreas, very rarely islet cell tumours and Wilms tumours
  • adrenal adenoma - 9% secrete cortisol
  • adrenal carcinoma - 7% secrete cortisol
  • pseudo Cushings - 5%, excess cortisol production in association with alcohol or severe depressive psychosis
  • macrondular adrenal hyperplasia - rare
  • ectopic secretion of corticotrophin releasing factor - CRH - rare

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.