Giampaolino Pierluigi, Della Corte Luigi, Formisano Carmen, Cuomo Lara, Maurea Simone, Romeo Valeria, Bifulco Giuseppe
a Department of Public Health , University of Naples Federico II , Naples , Italy.
b Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry , University of Naples Federico II , Naples , Italy.
Gynecol Endocrinol. 2018 Dec;34(12):1016-1018. doi: 10.1080/09513590.2018.1480712. Epub 2018 Jun 12.
Pheochromocytoma (PH) is a tumor that arises from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. Though being this benign neoplasm very rare in pregnancies, lack of treatment nevertheless causes high mortality rates for both the mother and the fetus. Classic symptoms related to PH are hypertension, abdominal pain, diaphoresis, and headache; but it can be easily misdiagnosed as gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. Its appearance is sporadic, but there are some genetic disorders that favor its onset (e.g. MEN 2A and 2B). Individual management is needed, because no single protocol is suitable in such a complex and rare condition. In this paper we describe our experience in the clinical and surgical management of a young pregnant patient affected by PH, and in particular the specific and unique pharmacological treatment with doxazosin, the use of corticosteroids and a close monitoring of fetal well-being, which proved being an effective approach.
