Endocrine Abstracts

In the UK the expansion of nurses’ autonomy and scope of practice over recent years means that the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) can effectively provide a quality service to endocrine patients. The role of the endocrine CNS in enabling patients to choose the right sex steroid replacement option does not differ much from the Doctor’s role. The CNS does, however, often have more time to provide the necessary education to the patient required to make an informed choic...

In the UK, the number of nurses able to legally prescribe medicines is rapidly increasing. The skills of nurse independent prescribing (NIP) offer an effective way for the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) to be more responsive to the changing, and unpredictable, needs of patients by enabling timely and appropriate symptom control in a single, seamless consultation. The structure of the Nurse-led clinic often allows for a longer consultation time enabling the CNS to provide a gr...

Introduction: Low adherence to levothyroxine replacement therapy can be up to 27% in some population. Suboptimal levothyroxine replacement in the community is primarily due to medication non-adherence. The Levothyroxine Absorption Test (LAT) is a well-described intervention at confirming medication non-adherence or malabsorption. We audited the short-term and long-term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing LAT at our Centre since 2016.Methods: LAT: Pa...

Cranial Diabetes Insipidus (CDI) is associated with significant polyuria and is treated with desmopressin. Inappropriate or missed treatment can result in significant electrolyte imbalance and potential harm. A recent UK survey of Endocrinologists reported 55% had concerns about knowledge in their trust, 39% felt they had observed patients come to harm. Patients not receiving desmopressin have been associated with death, leading to an NHS England (NHSE) safety alert in 2016. W...