Addison's Disease Analysis

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Addison’s disease is a rare disease that not many people have heard of. The rarity of this disease is why I chose this topic to write about. In my four-year career as a paramedic, I have encountered over two-thousand patients on emergency calls. Out of those two thousand patients, I have only encountered one person who had a diagnosis of Addison’s disease. Addison’s disease is a rare endocrine or hormonal disease that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid that helps maintain blood pressure and cardiovascular function. Modifies the bodies response to inflammation. Stimulates the liver to raise blood sugar. Helps control the amount of water in the body (Margulies, 2017). …show more content…
Thomas Addison in 1855 (Margulies, 2017). This disease is well established and there is no controversy over the causes of the disease. There are two forms of adrenal insufficiency. Primary adrenal insufficiency and secondary adrenal insufficiency. Primary adrenal insufficiency is caused by destruction of the cerebral cortex. For this to happen, at least 90% of the adrenal cortex must be destroyed (Corrigan, 2013). This destruction can be caused by autoimmune disorders. In fact, autoimmune disorders account for approximately 70% of the reported cases of primary adrenal insufficiency (Corrigan, 2013). Tuberculosis is another cause that accounts for 20% of the reported cases (Corrigan, 2013). The remaining percentage is less common causes that include chronic fungal infections, cancers that have spread from other areas of the body, amyloidosis and the CMV virus that is associated with AIDS (Corrigan, …show more content…
Treating the symptoms and replacing what is not being produced is the goal of treatment of Addison’s disease. Oral medications can be taken to replace the cortisol and aldosterone. An oral synthetic glucocorticoid such as hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, or prednisone can be taken to replace the cortisol (Toft, 2014). An oral mineralocorticoid called fludrocortisone can be given to replace the aldosterone (Toft, 2014). As well as medications, your doctor may suggest an increase in sodium in a patient’s diet (Toft, 2014). Treatment of an Addison’s crisis involves emergency medical care. This can include intravenous fluids, dextrose and hydrocortisone (Toft,
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