Sonopath Forum

Flat adrenal with normal ACTH stim

What can cause “flat” adrenals with low resting Cortisol but a normal ACTH stim?

8 mo. old F Lab
Ongoing issues with diarrhea, puppy vaginitis/UTI, poor weight gain
Some urinary incontinence
“Flat” adrenal gland, cr. pole width 0.4cm, difficult to find.

Resting cortisol = 0.7

So ran the ACTH Stim (2 days later):

Pre = 0.9 Post = 12.2

Do I look for other chronic disease (food intolerance, etc)? Could this be a dog that will be Addisonian later in life?

Thanks!

What can cause “flat” adrenals with low resting Cortisol but a normal ACTH stim?

8 mo. old F Lab
Ongoing issues with diarrhea, puppy vaginitis/UTI, poor weight gain
Some urinary incontinence
“Flat” adrenal gland, cr. pole width 0.4cm, difficult to find.

Resting cortisol = 0.7

So ran the ACTH Stim (2 days later):

Pre = 0.9 Post = 12.2

Do I look for other chronic disease (food intolerance, etc)? Could this be a dog that will be Addisonian later in life?

Thanks!

Karen Ebersole

Comments

rlobetti

November 5, 2018 at 8:58 am -

Altough the adrenal glands

Altough the adrenal glands appear ultrasonographically small, functionally they are normal. With the diarrhea and poor weigh gain would look at the GI tract – exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory bowel disease, dietary hypersensivity, parasitic enteritis.

4ebersoles

November 5, 2018 at 11:06 am -

Thank you rlobetti! We’ll

Thank you rlobetti! We’ll move on to evaluating the GI tract.

bhylands77

November 6, 2018 at 10:25 pm -

When I notice smaller then

When I notice smaller then expected adrenal glands I personally look at their overall diameter in comparision to that of the prenicoabdominal vein when measured at it’s own maximum distention. If the diameter is less then that of the vein he is most probably Addisonian. If it is greater by any small measure he is not. This is not the Gospel but my own personal observation thatr I stick by. Up until now it has proven accurate each time that I have suspected it ( all were confirmed with ACTH testing ).

4ebersoles

November 6, 2018 at 10:54 pm -

Thank you bhylands! That’s a

Thank you bhylands! That’s a great “rule of thumb”…. not Gospel :)… to have while scanning. I appreciate the tip.

November 6, 2018 at 11:22 pm -

Nice Bob! Love it.

Nice Bob! Love it.