CT for pheochromocytoma diagnosis.

During a 2 year period 26 patients were scanned by computed tomography (CT) for evaluation of a suspected pheochromocytoma. In 14 patients a tumor was localized; 12 of these were verified at operation. Two patients with sign and symptoms typical of pheochromocytoma did not undergo surgery because of clinical contraindications. The other 12 patients had negative CT scans, and in none of these patients was a tumor found by other means. CT is the examination of choice in the localization of a pheochromocytoma in patients with hypertension and positive hormone assays.