Adrenal heterogeneity in the arterial phase of contrast-enhanced CT predicts prognosis in septic shock: comparison with hollow adrenal gland sign

Purpose To evaluate the prognostic value of adrenal heterogeneity in the arterial phase in patients with septic shock, comparatively to the hollow adrenal gland sign (HAGS). Methods Totally 84 consecutive patients with septic shock (group S) were assessed retrospectively, and abdominal dual-phase contrast-enhanced CT was performed after the diagnosis of septic shock within one week. The patients were divided into two groups according to clinical outcome, including the survivor (group A, 41 cases) and death (group B, 43 cases) groups. Fifty negative cases were matched as the control (group C). The incidence of the HAGS in patients with septic shock (group S) was statistically analyzed. The average values of left adrenal density (Den-A and Den-V) and their standard deviations (SDDen-A and SDDen-V) in dual phases were measured. The above parameters were compared between groups A and B as well as with group C. The parameters were assessed for their predictive values of mortality in septic shock, comparatively to the HAGS. Results Compared with group C, group S presented significantly higher Den-A (P = 0.003) and SDDen-A (P < 0.001). There were significantly higher SDDen-A (P < 0.001) in group B compared with group A. The incidence of the HAGS was about 27.4% (23/84) in group S. The sensitivity and specificity in predicting poor prognosis in patients with septic shock were 78% and 85% with SDDen-A, at a cut-off value of 28.64, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 41% and 88% for the HAGS, respectively. The area under ROC curve (AUC) was significantly greater for SDDen-A compared with the HAGS (0.820 vs. 0.670, P < 0.001). Conclusion Adrenal heterogeneity in the arterial phase can predict prognosis in patients with septic shock; the larger the SDDen-A, the poorer the prognosis. The predictive efficiency of adrenal heterogeneity in the arterial phase is better than the HAGS.