Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 11 beta-hydroxylase deficiency: final diagnosis in adult age in three patients.

Three patients, one male and two females, in whom the diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) was made in early childhood were studied. The two females were treated with cortisone acetate from the age of 2 and 4 years, respectively, and later they both proved to be fertile. The male patient was only treated sporadically with cortisone acetate until the age of 33 years. He also became fertile when a more consistent treatment with prednisolone was started. The two female patients had a slight hypertension in childhood before the treatment was initiated but became normotensive on treatment. The male patient revealed a blood pressure of180/130 mm Hg at the age of 33 years. In this patient the treatment with prednisolone produced a moderate decrease in the blood pressure, but additional treatment with antihypertensive drugs was needed to make him normotensive. All three patients were originally thought to have a 21-hydroxylase deficiency and the correct diagnosis of an 11 beta-hydroxylase deficiency was first established between the age of 26 and 33 years. It is concluded that an early diagnosis and an uninterrupted treatment with glucocorticoids are important in order to prevent hypertension and infertility problems.