ABSTRACT
Primary aldosteronism is a clinical syndrome of muscle weakness, hypertension and hypokalemia due to excess secretion of mineralocorticoid by the adrenal gland. In primary adlosteronism, muscle weakness is often caused by excess secretion of aldosterone, however, to our knowledge there have been no case reports rhabdomyolysis due to severe hypokalemia in domestic cases. A fifty-eight year old female who presented with myalgia was admitted into the hospital. Initial laboratory values demonstrate marked hypokalemia with elevated creatinine kinase and LDH. Also, her urine myoglobin was positive and plasma renin activity level was decreased and serum aldosterone level was increased. Owing to a high clinical suspicion of primary aldosteronism, an abdominal CT scan was performed revealing 1.6 cm sized mass in the right adrenal gland. After surgery, her blood pressure was normalized and serum potassium level was maintained to normal range without potassium replacement therapy. She is now in outpatient care under close follow-up. We report a case of a patient with paralysis of both lower extremities and myalgia, who later found to have primary aldosteronism with rhabdomyolysis due to severe hypokalemia.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Adrenal Glands , Aldosterone , Ambulatory Care , Blood Pressure , Creatinine , Follow-Up Studies , Hyperaldosteronism , Hypertension , Hypokalemia , Lower Extremity , Muscle Weakness , Myalgia , Myoglobin , Paralysis , Phosphotransferases , Plasma , Potassium , Reference Values , Renin , Rhabdomyolysis , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between chewing ability and health status in order to provide basic information for the development of program which may lead to an improvement of a the elderly health status in urban areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects of this study were 128 elderly urban female over the age of 65 who reside at house. The data were collected from May 21 to August 20, 2001, through questionnaires about nutrient intake status, direct measurement of anthropometrics, and oral examinations. RESULTS: In terms of remaining teeth, there was significant negative relationship between age and number of remained teeth. The average number of remained teeth our subjects was 13.1 10.6. About sixty five percent of the subjects were denture users (partial or full dentures) and there was positive relationship between age and the percentage of denture user. There was a significant negative correlation between age and chewing ability. The group that was able to chew had more remained teeth than the other group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that there is strong positive relationship between chewing ability (remaining teeth) and elderly health status in urban areas, and the importance of preserving original teeth to improve the elderly health status in the public health program.