A SCREENING TEST FOR PHAEOCHROMOCYTOMA

Abstract

Patients suffering from phaeochromocytomata excrete many times the normal amount of noradrenaline in the urine (Euler, 1951). Determination of the excretion of noradrenaline in thu urine over 24 hours is thus a valuable aid to the diagnosis of this condition. Few clinical laboratories, however, have the facilities for noradrenaline assay, and there is a need for a simple, reliable, and fairly rapid test to detect the increased secretion of noradrenaline which is characteristic of phaeochromocytoma.