Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Hyponatraemia is encountered in 15−20% of inpatients but remains suboptimally managed. It leads to increased morbidity, length of stay and mortality. A closed-loop audit on investigating and managing inpatients with hyponatraemia was conducted, to identify pitfalls in management.Method: A retrospective audit of general medical inpatients admitted over three months with a serum sodium level of less than 130 mmol/l was conducted. Relevant...

Background: The prevalence of hypothyroidism is around 1–2% in the UK. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is thought to cause 0.1–2% of overt disease and 10–15% of subclinical hypothyroidism. This case presents a patient with severe hypothyroidism, secondary to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, found incidentally on a surgical admission. The case study discusses the challenges and management of severe hypothyroidism in the need for an acute surgical intervention....

Background: Graves’ disease is a common cause of thyrotoxicosis,especially amongst females. In the UK,initial treatment is usually with anti-thyroid drugs, using either a ‘block and replace’ or a titrating regime. A meta-analysis suggests about 50% chance of relapse after the initial course of treatment and may then require definitive cure with radioactive iodine or surgery.Method: A retrospective audit of patients with Graves’ di...

Respiratory disorders are a major cause of illness and impaired physical function in patients with acromegaly, contributing to 25% of all recorded deaths, with respiratory mortality 3-fold higher than in normal subjects. Sleep apnoea (SA), the phenomenon of recurrent cessation or decrease of airflow to the lungs during sleep, is the commonest reported respiratory complication. Both obstructive (OSA) and central (CSA) sleep apnoeas are known to occur, although the overall preva...