ICD-Code E27.3: Drug-induced adrenocortical insufficiency
Your adrenal glands are no longer working properly.
The adrenal glands are at the top of the kidneys.The adrenal glands form the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol has many effects in the body. For example, cortisol is important for the sugar level in the blood and for blood pressure. The adrenal glands also produce a hormone (messenger substance) that manages the levels of minerals in the blood. Minerals help regulate hydration and maintain fluid balance in the body. The adrenal glands also form sex hormones. Every person has female and male sex hormones in their body.
You are taking a drug that affects the adrenal glands. It is often a drug that works similarly to the stress messenger substance cortisol. If you are taking this drug, enough of the messenger substance effect is in your body. Because of this, the adrenal glands have stopped producing the messenger substance altogether or are only producing small amounts of it. If you suddenly stop taking this drug, there won’t be enough messenger substances from the adrenal gland in your body.
There may be various symptoms as a result. For example, you may lose weight, become weaker and have low blood pressure. The skin may also have a bronze discoloration. The symptoms may become more intense with stress. The symptoms may be very severe. It is also possible that you will have no symptoms at all. That depends on how much of the drug you had taken previously.
Additional indicator
On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.
- G: Confirmed diagnosis
- V: Tentative diagnosis
- Z: Condition after
- A: Excluded diagnosis
- L: Left
- R: Right
- B: Both sides
Note
This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.
Source
The explanation of the ICD code was provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).