Endocrine Abstracts

A 24-year-old male was referred to endocrinology with multiple severe atraumatic vertebral fractures. In the preceding 10 years the patient had experienced a bimalleolar ankle fracture and numerous metacarpal and metatarsal breakages unrelated to trauma. There was no family history of osteoporosis and examination did not reveal any abnormalities in scleral colour, stature, dentition or facial/thoracic morphology. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry demonstrated severe densitometr...

A 29 year old woman with multiple sclerosis and no history of thyroid dysfunction was referred to endocrinology with T3 thyrotoxicosis (TSH <0.01 mU/l, fT4 20.7 pmol/l, T3 2.9 nmol/l). She had received monoclonal alemtuzumab therapy 9 months prior. This hyperthyroid phase was short lived and in the absence of anti-thyroid medication developed symptomatic hypothyroidism within 2 months of referral (TSH 52.9 mU/l, T4 <5 pmol/l, T3 0.8 nmol/l). Thyroid receptor antibodies...

A 53 year old male with a history of polysubstance abuse was admitted to A&E, having been found unconscious in the community with a blood glucose level of 1.2 mmol/l. Despite intramuscular glucagon and intravenous 20% dextrose administration, his blood glucose was confirmed to be 2.6 mmol/l on arrival in A&E. Neuroglycopaenia was refractory to multiple dextrose boluses and only stabilised following a continuous 20% 125 ml/hr dextrose infusion. Following admission to th...

Background: People with diabetes account for 15–20% of total inpatients in Scottish hospitals. Provision of specialised diabetes care is integral in minimising length of stay and diabetes-related complications in such patients. Consequently, inpatient diabetes teams have been implemented throughout the UK as recommended by the Joint British Diabetes Societies.Methods: The amalgamation of several Glasgow hospitals into a single large teaching hospita...

A 77 year old female was referred to endocrinology with an incidental finding of hypophosphataemia (0.26 mmol/l) on routine bloods. She described a slight unsteadiness on her feet, but denied bone pain or overt muscle weakness. Past medical history included Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, a left humeral fragility fracture and the subsequent diagnosis of osteoporosis 2 years previously. At presentation the corrected calcium was slightly elevated (2.64 mmol/l), which normalised when r...

Background: Radioactive iodine (RAI) is a safe and effective treatment for management of hyperthyroidism caused by Graves’ disease and multinodular goitres. However, patient engagement with this therapy is limited by concerns regarding significant weight gain following treatment. We therefore aimed to audit weight changes in individuals receiving RAI within our service and identify factors that may influence this outcome.Met...