Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Hypercalcaemia is a commonly encountered electrolyte abnormality within the acute medical take; identification of the underlying aetiology can guide optimised care.Case : A 23 year old male patient with a background of insulin dependent diabetes, diabetic nephropathy (chronic kidney disease stage 1) was admitted feeling acutely unwell. Clinical and bed side investigations identified he was in severe diabetes ketoacidosis. His condition prompt...

Background: Adrenal crisis is a potentially life-threatening situation which can affect any patient with adrenal insufficiency (AI). Patients with AI and healthcare professionals looking after them should know the sick day rules and when and how to use parenteral hydrocortisone. Patient stories and feedback from patients with AI indicated low standards locally. We therefore aimed to empower patients through education and provide them with a hydrocortisone emergency kit.<p ...

Case history: Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) which was first described in 1902 is characterised by episodes of painless muscle weakness, hypokalaemia and thyrotoxicosis without any total body potassium deficit. It predominantly affects people of Asian descent between 20 and 40 years old with a 2 percent incidence compared to 0.2 percent in non-Asian descent. The pathogenesis of TPP is related to an increase Na+/K+-ATPase activity in the skeletal muscle leading to an influ...

Background: The benefits of patient education in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are known but a cost effective way to offer the education to these patients need to be assessed. As part of a quality improvement project in an outpatient setting we tested the idea of incorporating group education for women with PCOS in their routine care process. We tested two different methods.Methods: 1. January-June 2017: Ad hoc open patient invitation<p...

Retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) is an adipokine reportedly linked to physiological states of insulin resistance and impaired glycaemia. Pregnancy is a physiological state characterised by changes in carbohydrate metabolism and increased insulin resistance. Our aim was to determine plasma levels of RBP4 during early pregnancy, late pregnancy and postpartum in normal women.Fasting plasma levels of RBP4, insulin and glucose were collected and assayed (ELIS...