Open Access“Petrified Ears” in Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency
Author(s) -
Soumik Goswami,
Partha Pratim Chakraborty,
Sayantan Ray,
Sujoy Ghosh,
Subhankar Chowdhury
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of clinical and diagnostic research
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2249-782X
pISSN - 0973-709X
DOI - 10.7860/jcdr/2016/17381.7303
Subject(s) - medicine , auricle , adrenal insufficiency , ectopic calcification , calcification , levothyroxine , disease , dermatology , pathology , surgery , hormone
Petrification of the auricle, a rarely encountered clinical entity usually results from ectopic calcification of the auricular cartilages and manifests as rigid ear. The underlying pathogenesis remains ambiguous with several proposed hypotheses till date. Auricular calcification may be the sole cutaneous marker of underlying endocrinopathy at times. Adrenal insufficiency is the most common endocrinological disorder to be associated with such stiff ears and it has been described in both primary as well as secondary forms of the disease. We present here a 30-year-old man whose clinical condition deteriorated following levothyroxine supplementation and the presence of "petrified ears" ultimately provided a clue to the diagnosis of associated secondary adrenal insufficiency.