Endocrine Abstracts

Pituitary carcinomas are extremely rare accounting for only 0.1%–0.2% of all pituitary tumours. The diagnosis is primarily dependent on aggressive imaging characteristics and high tumour mitotic activity on histology. A 47 year old gentleman with Type 1 Diabetes presented with an apparent non-functioning pituitary macro adenoma which was resected transsphenoidally and followed by EBRT. Initial histology was negative for ACTH. He presented 2 years later with florid Cushing...

Introduction: The first-line investigation of thyroid nodules is ultrasonography. Since the introduction of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the last 2 decades, the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid malignancy has massively improved. This study aims to examine the sensitivities of ultrasonography and FNAC respectively, evaluating our centre’s practice.Methods: Retrospective data were collected from ultrasound scan and FNAC reports of patients ...

Introduction: Ultrasonography is safe, fast and radiation-free. This audit, based on the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Management Guidelines (revised in 2009), aims to establish if our regional unit meets the recommended standards of using ultrasonography to aid the management of thyroid malignancy and to make further suggestions to improve practice.Methodology: Retrospective data were collected from ultrasound scan reports of patients who had thyro...

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that different ultrasound features of a thyroid nodule are associated with high probability of different types of malignancy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sensitivities of each of the identified ultrasound features and to determine their corresponding carcinoma types that they are sensitive to.Methods: Retrospective data from January 2010 to October 2013 were collected in a regional thyroid unit in ...

Pheochromocytoma is a rare catecholamine-secreting tumor. It is potentially curable but can cause life-threatening hypertension or cardiac arrhythmias. We report a 58- years- old woman with no significant past medical history who was admitted through the emergency department with complaints of chest pain, palpitation, and nausea. She reported six months history of episodic palpitation and throbbing headaches, sometimes associated with light-headedness and dizziness. Hence, she...

Introduction: Cardiomyopathy as the initial presentation of phaeochromocytoma (PCA) is uncommon. Diagnostic workup and perioperative management may be challenging within this context. We report three cases of PCA presenting with cardiomyopathy to illustrate the pitfalls in diagnosis and management. None of the patients had typical adrenergic symptoms of catecholamine excess and all patients were well established on beta-blockers on presentation. All three patients had an adren...

Introduction: There is a rare but well documented association between thymic hyperplasia and Graves’ disease particularly in young patients. It is important to recognise this as patients presenting with an anterior mediastinal mass will often undergo extensive investigations to exclude an underlying lymphoproliferative disorder.Case study: A 19-year-old female with symptomatic Graves’ thyrotoxicosis (TSH <0.01 mU/l; FT4 46.8 pmol...

BackgroundAdvances in imaging techniques combined with the increase in the number of patients undergoing radiological investigations have contributed to the increased detection of adrenal nodules. Prior to the publication of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) guidelines on the management of adrenal incidentalomas in 2016, there was marked variability in the management of adrenal nodules. The objective of this study is to validate the diagnostic ...