Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hyperprolactinaemia is a common finding in endocrine practice and can be due to a number of causes. The degree of elevation of prolactin levels may sometimes be helpful in distinguishing between underlying aetiology.Aim: To determine if hyperprolactinaemia is correlated with clinical diagnosis in a cohort of patients in the endocrine service at a tertiary centre.Methods: A biochemistry database held at University Hosp...

Background: Serum total cortisol responses to the short Synacthen® test (SST) are used to confirm or refute a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Salivary cortisol measurement offers a non-invasive alternative and has the potential advantage of evaluating free, bioavailable cortisol. However, reference ranges and its performance in the investigation of suspected hypoadrenalism (SH) have not been firmly established.Aims: 1....

Background: Serum total cortisol responses to the short Synacthen® test (SST) are used to confirm or refute a diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Salivary cortisol measurement offers a non-invasive alternative and has the potential advantage of evaluating free, bioavailable cortisol. However, reference ranges and its performance in the investigation of suspected hypoadrenalism (SH) have not been firmly established.Aims: 1....

Background: NEQAS data demonstrate a divergence in bias of cortisol immunoassays over the last 10 years. Despite this, a serum cortisol of 50 nmol/l has been universally applied as the cut-off for the overnight dexamethasone suppression test (ONDST), the commonest screening test for Cushing’s syndrome.Aims: To assess the effect of assay bias on interpretation of the ONDST and determine the necessity for a method-specific cut-off.<p class="abstex...