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Endocrine Abstracts (2017) 49 EP1046 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.49.EP1046

1University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania; 2Klinika Pediatrii,, Endokrynologii, Diabetologii z Pododdzialem Kardiologii, Poland; 3Klinicki Centar Srbije, Beograd, Serbia; 4Bernu kliniska universitates slimnica, Riga, Latvia; 5Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; 6Univerzitna Nemocnica Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia; 7Clinical Center of Endocrinology and Gerontology, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria; 8University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia; 9Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tiqva, Israel; 10Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 11Pfizer, New York City, USA; 12Pfizer Innovative Health, Brussels, Belgium.


Introduction: Effective identification, diagnosis and management of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in adults are crucial for treating endocrinologists to provide the best in patient care. As such, it is important that we share our experiences to understand challenges and obstacles to enhance the patient journey. The objective of this project was to start identifying these challenges and obstacles.

Methods and findings: In November 2016, an expert panel of 10 endocrinologists from across 10 Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries met to discuss their standard of care and journey taken by adult GH-deficient (AGHD) patients in their respective countries. Prior to the meeting the experts were asked to summarize in a systematic way, the standard of care available for AGHD patients in their countries and share this with their peers. The meeting was chaired by one of the experts and each participant had adequate time to present their perspective followed by discussion. It was uncovered that there was a substantial degree of diversity in the management AGHD patient pathway across CEE. The main variations included: initial entry to the healthcare system and referral journey; tests required to confirm diagnosis; availability of programmes to manage patients during transition to adulthood; limitations of who prescribes GH therapy, medication re-imbursement by national healthcare services and, the frequency of follow-up visits and monitoring of patients. Although most countries represented relied on international society-led, published guidelines, few countries have developed national guidelines for patient management.

Conclusion: This expert panel recognizes a high degree of diversity in the patient pathway across CEE. Sharing of local experiences with other colleagues may help in understanding areas of high heterogeneity as well as facilitating the sharing of best practice. Further work will be needed to identify differences in practice patterns and AGHD patient management among other regions in the world.

Volume 49

19th European Congress of Endocrinology

Lisbon, Portugal
20 May 2017 - 23 May 2017

European Society of Endocrinology 

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