Elevated catecholamine levels in hypertension

Abstract

These three cases show that the laboratory diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, like that of other endocrine disorders, may be in error if the physiologic state of the patient is not taken into consideration. Each of these patients had a condition that enhanced catecholamine production--hypothyroidism in one case, volume depletion induced by use of diuretics in another, and alcoholism in the third. When these conditions were controlled, catecholamine values returned to normal.