Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Management of adrenal insufficiency (AI) with glucocorticoid replacement is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. There is growing evidence that this is because of excess, non-physiological steroid exposure. Low dose prednisolone (2-4 mg) is a once-daily alternative to standard hydrocortisone regimens that more closely mimics the circadian rhythm and may translate to better outcomes. There is however a paucity of studies comparing the two treatments.</...

Background: Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a life-threatening condition if left unmanaged. Despite treatment patients can expect a life expectancy that is shortened by 12 years secondary to probable inherent over-replacement associated with oral glucocorticoid regimens. Thrice-daily hydrocortisone is the most common regimen used. Very low-dose prednisolone (2-4 mg) is an alternative with lower uptake due to the absence of evidence for its use. This study fills this literature g...

Background: Childhood growth is an indicator of health/well-being. Growth monitoring identifies treatable conditions in apparently healthy children and prevents inappropriate referrals. Systematic growth monitoring is not currently a UK priority and growth disorders are frequently diagnosed late.Objective: Develop and test the accuracy of GrowthMonitor, an app which enables families to measure a child’s height at home as a cost-effective alternative...

Background: Growth monitoring identifies treatable conditions in apparently healthy children and prevents inappropriate referrals. Systematic growth monitoring is not currently a UK priority and growth disorders are frequently diagnosed late.Objectives: Develop and test the accuracy of a smartphone app which enables families to measure a child’s height at home as a cost-effective alternative to primary care growth monitoring.M...

Background: Screening algorithms for the identification of growth-disorders are routinely used in several countries. In the UK, the use of the Coventry consensus for the referral of children with suspected growth-disorders performs poorly compared to more sophisticated screening mechanisms used elsewhere. We aimed to test an algorithm developed to screen for growth-disorders in 2- to 8-year-old UK children.Methods: The a...