Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2015) 37 EP21 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.37.EP21

Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.


Introduction: Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is accompanied by a ten times increased risk of venous thromboembolism and arterial thrombosis. In this study we aimed to analyze frequency of thromboembolism in CS.

Methods: We prospectively followed 62 patients who had been diagnosed with CS between 2010 and 2014 in our clinic. Of the patients, 60% had Cushing’s disease (CD) (29 females and eight males) and 40% had ACTH-independent CS (20 females and five males). Frequencies of arterial and venous thromboembolic events were recorded.

Results: The prevalence of thromboembolic events was 5% in our patient population. Thromboembolism was diagnosed in three patients (two CD and one ectopic CS); one with venous thromboembolism, two with arterial thrombosis (Table 1). Two of them were diagnosed in the postoperative period, but one of them was suspected to have the event before the surgery. Remaining one of the three patients was diagnosed with recurrent pulmonary thromboembolism both before and after surgery for CS.

Table 1 Location and time of thromboembolism in our patient population.
Age/sexAetiology of CSVesselThromboembolic eventTime of diagnosis
Preoperative periodPostoperative period
145-FPituitary adenomaVenousDVT of lower extremity-After 4 months
240-MPituitary adenomaArterialSubacute thrombosis of external iliac artery-After 1 week
342-MEctopicArterialFatal PTEBefore 9 monthsAfter 2 weeks
DVT, deep venous thrombosis; PTE, pulmonary thromboembolism.

Discussion: Thromboembolism may occur before and after surgery in CS. It generally occurs in the first year, especially in the first 3 months following surgery. It may be venous or arterial in origin. Thus, thromboprophylaxis should be administered to patients with active CS before and after the surgery for 6 months.

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