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Comparison of the Dexamethasone-Suppressed Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Test and Low-Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test in the Diagnosis of Cushing’s Syndrome

Department of Endocrinology, Imperial College, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. K. Meeran, Department of Endocrinology, Imperial College, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom. E-mail: k.meeran{at}imperial.ac.uk.

Context: The low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDST) is widely used in confirming a diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. CRH administration at the end of an LDDST has been reported to improve the diagnostic accuracy of this test.

Objective: Our objective was to assess whether CRH administration after a standard LDDST (LDDST-CRH test) improves diagnostic accuracy in Cushing’s syndrome.

Design, Setting, and Participants: Thirty-six individuals with a clinical suspicion of Cushing’s syndrome each completed a standard LDDST and an LDDST-CRH test at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, London. The LDDST involved administration of 0.5 mg oral dexamethasone given 6-hourly for 48 h. Serum cortisol was measured 6 h after the last dose of dexamethasone, with a value of 50 nmol/liter or below excluding Cushing’s syndrome. Immediately after this, the LDDST-CRH test commenced with administration of a ninth dose of 0.5 mg dexamethasone. Exactly 2 h later, 100 µg human-sequence CRH was administered. Serum cortisol was measured 15 min after the CRH injection, with a value of less than 38 nmol/liter also excluding Cushing’s syndrome.

Main Outcome Measure: Diagnosis or exclusion of Cushing’s syndrome was the main outcome measure.

Results: Twelve subjects were diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome (eight Cushing’s disease and four primary adrenal). The sensitivity of the LDDST in diagnosing Cushing’s syndrome was 100%, with a specificity of 88%. In contrast, although the sensitivity of the LDDST-CRH test was also 100%, specificity was reduced at 67%. These results give a positive predictive value of 80% for the LDDST and 60% for the LDDST-CRH test.

Conclusion: This small study suggests that the addition of CRH to the LDDST does not improve the diagnostic accuracy of the standard LDDST in Cushing’s syndrome.

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