Abstract
Acute adrenal insufficiency is a life- threatening endocrine emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosing a patient with acute adrenal insufficiency can be difficult because the nonspecific clinical condition, symptoms and signs may be overshadowed by factors that promote acute adrenal insufficiency.
Addison's disease, first described by Thomas Addison in 1835, has a prevalence rate of 35-120 per million population. Addison's disease with manifestations of acute adrenal insufficiency is uncommon. In recent times, cases of moderate adrenal insufficiency with manifestations of acute adrenal insufficiency have been reported in patients with critical medical conditions, already infected with HIV or adrenal suppressed by glucocorticoid (GC) therapy.