Fig. 3

Tukey box–whisker plot comparison of the secretion ratios (‰) of aldosterone, 18-hydroxycortisol, and 18-oxocortisol in the unilateral AV of various lateralization statuses (classified by LS–MS/MS results) in patients with PA A before and B after ACTH stimulation. The secretion ratio (‰) of steroids was calculated by dividing the amount of each steroid by the total amount of steroids in unilateral AV. Intergroup differences were evaluated with the Kruskal–Wallis test (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.00, ****P < 0.0001 between groups). ACS autonomous cortisol secretion, ACTH adrenocorticotropic hormone, AV adrenal vein, PA primary aldosteronism