Education Webinar Series -- Diagnosing Pheo Para: Properly Reading Labs and Avoiding Pitfalls

This video features a discussion on how lab tests are used to diagnose #pheochromocytoma and #paraganglioma, led by Dr. Jacques Lenders and Dr. Christina Pamporaki. Part of the Pheo Para Alliance Patient Education Webinar Series. Q 1 at 45:28 Can you discuss when it is appropriate to do supine and upright catecholamines, and the significance of a clonidine suppression test for borderline levels. A lot of people are diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and sometimes it is actually pheo -- and vice versa. Would love some discussion on this as it is a question that is asked a lot. Q 2 at 48:08 Can you please talk about Chromogranin A and how it can measure paraganglioma’s activity? Q 3 at 49:41 Why would the plasma norepinephrine and dopamine be elevated greater than 2 X the upper limit of normal repeatedly but 24 hour urine collection rate hole ones are normal repeatedly? Patient is very symptomatic with a history of hyper parathyroid ism and ovarian cystadenoma. Q 4 at 53:00 What testing is suggested for a patient with prior highly secretory pheochromocytoma who continues to have symptoms? Q 5 at 55:20 How can we teach and share this with our healthcare team who has different thoughts on testing?