Cushing's like syndrome in typical bronchial carcinoid a case report and review of the literature

Ilaria Pedicelli; Giuseppina Patriciello; Giovanni Scala; Antonietta Sorrentino; Gennaro Gravino; Pasquale Patriciello; Pio Zeppa; Vincenzo Di Crescenzo; Alessandro Vatrella

doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2016.02.006

Cushing's like syndrome in typical bronchial carcinoid a case report and review of the literature

Int J Surg Case Rep. 2016;20S(Suppl):1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2016.02.006. Epub 2016 Feb 4.

Authors

Ilaria Pedicelli¹, Giuseppina Patriciello², Giovanni Scala³, Antonietta Sorrentino⁴, Gennaro Gravino⁵, Pasquale Patriciello⁶, Pio Zeppa⁷, Vincenzo Di Crescenzo⁸, Alessandro Vatrella⁹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Respiratory Disease, Ospedali Riuniti Area Nolana, Italy. Electronic address: ilaria_pedicelli@libero.it.
² Department of Psychiatry, Second University of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: pleplo@libero.it.
³ Division of Respiratory Disease, Ospedali Riuniti Area Nolana, Italy. Electronic address: giovanniscala@tin.it.
⁴ Division of Respiratory Disease, Ospedali Riuniti Area Nolana, Italy. Electronic address: nappoerminia@alice.it.
⁵ Division of Respiratory Disease, Ospedali Riuniti Area Nolana, Italy. Electronic address: gg62@live.it.
⁶ Division of Respiratory Disease, Ospedali Riuniti Area Nolana, Italy. Electronic address: or.areanolana.pneumologia@aslnapoli3sud.it.
⁷ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Italy. Electronic address: pzeppa@unisa.it.
⁸ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Italy. Electronic address: vdicrescenzo@unisa.it.
⁹ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Italy. Electronic address: avatrella@unisa.it.

Abstract

Cushing's syndrome occurred in 1-5% of cases of bronchial carcinoids. In this paper we describe a case of typical bronchial carcinoid in a nonsmoker young male with clinical manifestations mimicking a Cushing's syndrome. The patient performed chest radiograph and computed tomography. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed the presence of an endobronchial mass occluding the bronchus intermedius. A rigid bronchoscopy was necessary for the conclusive diagnosis and for partial resection of the intraluminal tumor. Despite of the presence of Cushingoid features, the normal blood levels of ACTH and cortisol excluded the coexistence of a Cushing's syndrome.

Keywords: Bronchial carcinoid; Bronchoscopy; Cushing’s syndrome.