Acute illness in children with secondary adrenal insufficiency

Objective and background Secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI) is a rare condition in childhood which can be associated with high levels of morbidity in some patients. The causes of increased levels of illness are not well defined and warrant further investigation. Methods A retrospective cohort of patients with SAI was constructed by examining records of all attendances for acute illness by SAI patients at the emergency department of the two specialist paediatric hospitals in Sydney, Australia between 2004 and 2016. Demographic, clinical, and physiological characteristics together with pre‐hospital illness management strategies were assessed. Results There were 168 presentations for an acute illness by 47 children with SAI. Comorbid diabetes insipidus (DI) was present in 46.8% (n = 22), 77.3% (n = 17) of whom were male (P