“Petrified Ears” in Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency
Published: February 1, 2016 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/.7303
Soumi k Goswami, Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Sayantan Ray, Sujoy Ghosh, Subhankar Chowdhury
1. Residential Medical Officer, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, Midnapore, West Bengal, India.
3. Senior Resident, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research and SSKM Hospital,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
4. Associate Professor, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research and SSKM Hospital,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
5. Professor, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research and SSKM Hospital,
Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Correspondence
Dr. Sayantan Ray,
Room No. 502, Junior Doctors’ Hostel, 244, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata-700020, West Bengal, India.
E-mail: sayantan.ray30@gmail.com
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.
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