Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hypothyroidism is considered refractory to oral levothyroxine substitution, when there is biochemical (serum level of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) above the upper target level) or clinical evidence of hypothyroidism, despite increasing dosages of oral levothyroxine beyond 2.5 μg/kg daily. In these circumstances, further increments in the dosage of levothyroxine may not always be the most appropriate intervention. In such a situation, physicians need to ...

Introduction: Pheocromocytoma, is a rare cause of hypertension diagnosed during pregnancy, with a prevalence 0.002%, due to its non-specific presentation and difficulty to distinguish its hypertension from other clinical conditions during pregnancy. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment have a great impact on maternal and fetal mortality. Pheocromocytoma is sporadic in the majority of cases, but up to 25% may be syndrome-associated.Case report: We re...

Introduction: Thyroid physiology changes during pregnancy so the use of pregnancy-specific reference ranges for TSH and FT4 in order to adequately diagnose gestational thyroid disease is necessary. According to literature, in twin pregnancy, TSH can be in low levels during first trimester due to a much higher and more sustained peak of hCG (TSH-like activity of human chorionic gonadotropin) but it will be normalized at the end of the second trimester or within 22 weeks. Hypere...