Endocrine Abstracts

We present a case of a 26 years old female who was rushed to hospital with 4 days history of abdominal pain, vomiting and dizziness. She also had one episode of diarrhoea. Further history revealed that she had lost 32 kilograms of weight over the last 18 months through diet and exercise. There were no signs suggestive of an eating disorder.On examination she was peripherally cold, tachycardic (117/min), hypotensive (86/50 mmHg) and sweaty. Her Glasgow Co...

Liquorice (scientific name Glycyrrhiza glabra) is historically used for gastrointestinal complaints. Now it is primarily used as a flavoring agent in the tobacco, confectionery and to some extent in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries. Excessive intake of liquorice may cause a primary hyperaldosteronism-like syndrome characterized by sodium and water retention, hypertension, hypokalaemia, metabolic alkalosis, low-renin activity, and hypoaldosteronism. We descri...

Hypoparathyridsm and pseudohypoparathyroidsm are the common causes of pathological calcification in the brain though 0.3–1.5% cases are physiological. The clinical presentation of hypoparathyroidsm can vary with the calcium levels and chronicity of hypocalcaemia. We describe a 39-year-old female who had type one diabetes for the last 23 years. She was repeatedly hospitalised with collapse episodes thought to be hypoglycaemic though never proved. She also had primary hypop...

Thyrotoxicosis is a common disorder especially in women. Most of the patients tolerate antithyroid medications very well with very few developing life threatening side effects. We describe a 64 years old gentleman who was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism secondary to Grave’s disease (autoimmune). He was treated with Carbimazole 20 mg daily. With in a month, he presented with malaise and reduced oral intake. Laboratory investigations showed acute cholestatic hepatitis with r...

A 54-year-old lady with a 27-year history of schizoaffective disorder presented with shaking episodes, polyuria and polydipsia. She was found to have a serum sodium of 157 mmol/l. Of note, she had been on lithium for several years but this had been stopped three months previously as her serum sodium was raised at 156 mmol/l.On admission her lithium level was undetectable, confirming no recent use. Serum osmolality was 343 mOsm/kg and urine osmolality 82 ...

Introduction: CT renal tract is commonly requested by the urologists for suspected renal colic as it is recognized as the most accurate technique for the detection of ureteric stones. However, follow-up of adrenal incidentalomas identified on such scans could pose a challenge for the non-endocrinologist. We investigated the prevalence and follow-up of incidentally discovered adrenal masses after CT renal colic.Methods: We looked through the reports of al...

A 44-year-old gentleman presented to the Emergency Department with a 2-week history of fevers and rigors. Past medical history was unremarkable other than an earlier diagnosis of hypertension. He was noted to have new onset atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response, and a new diagnosis of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) was made on echocardiography. In addition, a vegetation was identified on the mitral valve. Treatment for infective endocarditis (Stre...

Case history: A 44-year-old gentleman presented to A&E with a 2-week history of fevers and rigors. He gave a background history of hypertension. He was noted to have new onset atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response, and a new diagnosis of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) was made on echocardiography. A vegetation identified on the mitral valve led to an unexpected diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Antibiotic treatment for infective endocarditi...

A 48-year-old male presented with headache, cough and recurrent nose bleeds. Clinical examination showed saddle shape nose deformity. His past medical history included primary hypothyroidism diagnosed at the age of 10 years, was taking levothyroxine. His brother had a Rathke’s cleft cyst, surgically removed. His blood test were as follows: Sodium 125mmol/l, TSH 0.10mU/l, free T4 10.2pmol/l, freeT3 2.6pmol/l, cortisol < 28nmol/l, prolactin 240mU/l, FSH 1.8U/l, LH 0.3U/...

A 45-year-old female presented with secondary amenorrhea. Since menarche, her period has been irregular, which she initially managed with oral pills, which were discontinued in 2009. Subsequently, she does have complete secondary amenorrhoea. She has hirsutism at the age of 20. Which was initially well controlled with oral contraceptive pills but has been getting worse over the years. Ferriman-Gallwey’s score was high. She also stated that her weight had been steadily inc...