Final answer:
An Addison crisis is a severe manifestation of Addison's disease that can lead to life-threatening conditions such as hypotension, severe pain, and potential kidney failure. Patients may experience chronic symptoms like fatigue, loss of appetite, and hyperpigmentation, and require lifelong cortisol replacement therapy.
Step-by-step explanation:
An Addison crisis, also known as acute adrenal failure, is a life-threatening situation that arises from the insufficient production of cortisol, which can be a complication of Addison's disease. During an Addison crisis, the symptoms can significantly worsen, leading to a state where immediate medical intervention is necessary. The symptoms of an Addison crisis include severe weakness, intense abdominal pain, pain in the lower back and legs, nausea, vomiting, hypotension (very low blood pressure), and may progress to circulatory system collapse and kidney failure. These extreme stress reactions can occur due to events such as surgery, injury, or infection in individuals with Addison’s disease.
Patients with Addison's disease generally have chronic symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin), hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels), hyperkalemia (high blood potassium levels), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), anemia, and lymphocytosis (increase in white blood cells). It is crucial to provide cortisol replacement therapy to patients with Addison’s disease as it is usually a lifelong requirement.