Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder which affects 3/1000 of the general population and is associated with excess morbidity and mortality. Clinical practice tends to vary in terms of investigations, monitoring, decisions on intervention, and follow up. Audits in several European countries have previously demonstrated marked variation and divergence from best practice recommendations.Methods: This project used the ...

The issue of treatment-resistant pituitary tumour growth remains relatively under-explored. We describe the case of a gentleman whose diagnosis and management involved several medical disciplines and his management proved challenging over the long term.A 47-year-old gentleman who was seen by a variety of specialists before and after diagnosis for the complications of his aggressive acromegaly.Initially seen in 1997 by an Occupation...

Background: Hirsutism carries with it significant cosmetic and psycho-social issues. Recent research has shown that various spearmint herbal tea preparations have anti-androgenic properties.What is not known are the specific biochemical reductions in androgen levels and also more importantly, the clinical effects – judged both subjectively and objectively – of the use of spearmint tea for patients with Hirsutism due to PCOS (REC approved).<...

Background: Acute hypercalcaemia of biochemical and symptomatic nature is a relatively common emergency medical presentation. Its management has tended to vary significantly and this can affect patient’s outcomes and length of hospital stay.Aim: To assess the acute management of hypercalcaemia in relation to the new Society for Endocrinology guidance.Method: A retrospective audit of all cases of hypercalcaemia admitted to Oxfo...

There are traditionally two major methods of treating autoimmune biochemical hyperthyroidism (Grave's disease) with anti-thyroid medication employed by Endocrinologist's in the UK today. The first is ‘dose titration’ and the second is ‘block and replace’, each treatment regime has it's own advantages and disadvantages and there is sometimes controversy over which is the best approach. A Cochrane review in 2005, undertook a systematic evaluation of all the g...

Background: Although early studies with IPSS reported a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity approaching 100%, additional experience has revealed a false negative rate of 1–10%. Previous studies have suggested that the measurement of other anterior pituitary hormones may be useful as a guide to the effectiveness of cannulation and to improve diagnostic accuracy.Method: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed all patients who had undergone ...

This retrospective cohort study examined Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Hospital Pharmacy Audit (HPA) data from 41 hospital trusts to understand how hyponatraemia secondary to syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is currently treated in England, and to understand the associated resource use. Hyponatraemia is the electrolyte disturbance that is most commonly encountered in clinical practice (affecting 10–30% of hospitalised patients), wit...

Hypoglycaemia in non-diabetic patients has a multitude of causes from exogenous insulin to paraneoplastic syndromes. We explore the importance of obtaining a ‘golden sample’, a serum blood sample, during the episode of hypoglycaemia, prior to reversal with treatment. The case herein describes a patient with recurrent episodes of unexplained hypoglycaemia which precipitated several hospital admissions. Standard screening tests did not detect any obvious cause for his ...