Pheochromocytomas are rare catecholamine-secreting tumours from the adrenal medulla. The clinical presentations may mimic other disorders due to nonspecific symptoms produced by catecholamines in blood.

We report a case of undiagnosed pheochromocytoma in a 29-year-old woman with a two year history of anxiety. We undertook a literature review.

PubMed search using “pheochromocytoma”, “anxiety” as key words. Follow by a manual review of identified publication. We report a case of a 29-year-old with a two-year history of anxiety pharmacologically treated without success. She presents episodes of acute anxiety accompanied, sometimes, by nausea or headache, without high blood pressure. She presented a previous medical history of thyroid carcinoma. The patient was referred to the endocrinology service for thyroid review, postulated as potential source for drug resistance. High catecholamine levels were found and pheochromocytoma diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically.

The releasing catecholamine in blood can lead to a number of symptoms that can include paroxysmal hypertension, headache, palpitations, anxiety, chest/abdominal pain, nausea. Hypertension may not be the main symptom. These symptoms can be misinterpreted as psychiatric disorders, in particularly anxiety disorders. Elevated urinary catecholamine suggested the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.

Pheochromocytoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of anxiety disorders, especially if pharmacological treatment is not effective. The suspected cases should be investigated, even in the absence of hypertension, due to the potential morbidity of untreated pheochromocytoma.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.