Bilateral Aldosterone Suppression in Patients With Right Unilateral Primary Aldosteronism and Review of the Literature

INTRODUCTION: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) identifies unilateral primary aldosteronism but may occasionally show paradoxically low aldosterone–cortisol ratios bilaterally. Postulated reasons include venous anomalies, fluctuating aldosterone secretion, or superselective cannulation. We report our findings in patients who underwent repeat AVS and reviewed the current literature. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study of patients undergoing AVS in an experienced high-volume tertiary center over a 5-year period. RESULTS: From 2015 to 2019, 61 patients underwent sequential cosyntropin-stimulated AVS and all had bilateral successful cannulation (100%). Four of 61 (6.6%) patients had bilaterally low aldosterone–cortisol ratios. Three patients underwent repeat AVS, with all 3 cases demonstrating right-sided lateralization and cure of disease postadrenalectomy. Right-sided disease was also more common in other reports. This may be due to inadvertent superselective cannulation of the short right adrenal vein, resulting in sampling of the adjacent normal gland. Cortisol results cannot detect this problem. In 1 patient, computed tomography venography excluded any accessory right adrenal veins. In another patient, repeat bilateral simultaneous unstimulated AVS was done, and measurements of metanephrines aided in accurately identifying right-sided lateralization. CONCLUSION: In addition to technical difficulties in cannulating the right adrenal vein, we also have to avoid performing superselective cannulation inadvertently. In cases of inconclusive AVS, repeat sampling may identify patients with potentially curable unilateral primary aldosteronism. The role of corticotropin stimulation and metanephrines measurements during repeat AVS requires further study.