Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The short Synacthen test (SST) is a popular diagnostic investigation for adrenal insufficiency (AI). Cannulation and blood sampling are required making it invasive, time-consuming and resource-intensive. Salivary cortisol is a well-established alternative to serum sampling. We have developed a non-invasive alternative to the 1 μg SST, using a novel formulation of Synacthen (with a nasal drug enhancer, chitosan) given nasally and utilising saliva to measure t...

Introduction: A 2009 BSPED survey revealed that 90% use a low dose Synacthen test (LDST) and 44% had noticed increased referrals of asthmatic children prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Approximately 21% of UK children have asthma of whom 70% are prescribed ICS (10% at ‘high dose’). There is an increasing need for a simple, less invasive, alternative to the LDST to evaluate their adrenal function. We are developing a non-invasive LDST, with Synacthen administe...