Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Diagnostic work-up for Cushing ’s syndrome (CS) can be challenging, with variable performance characteristics on screening tests. We were recently referred a young female patient with Cushing’s disease (CD) due to a microadenoma. She presented with a seizure and initial biochemical work-up included a Synacthen stimulation test (SST). Her peak cortisol rose to over 1,000 nmol/l. Exaggerated response during SST is expected in hyperestrogenic states due to e...

Objective: The 250 µg short Synacthen stimulation test (SST) is the most commonly used dynamic assessment to diagnose adrenal insufficiency (AI). There are challenges to the use of the SST in routine clinical practice, including staff and resource limitation in the current COVID-19 pandemic and Synacthen cost. We aimed to investigate the value of basal cortisol level for predicting AI in our selected cohort of patients at risk of secondary adrenal insufficiency from pitui...

Background: The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with higher fatality in respect of male sex, advancing age, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, climatic factors and, in the UK and North America, with darker-skinned ethnicities; in all of which circumstances vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is more common. 25(OH)D levels reach their nadir at the end of winter and have been associated wit...