Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The British Thyroid Association’s thyroid cancer guidelines (2014) advocate the U1-5 nodule grading system as a primary diagnostic and classification tool.Aims: We assessed whether practice reflected guidelines, and examined patient outcomes.Methods: Patients with a thyroid ultrasound, undertaken by radiographers or general radiologists, in January-June 2015 were identified. Investigation and outcomes...

Background: Rapid implementation of tele-clinics was necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients missed routine point-of-care HbA1c testing, vital for evaluating long-term glycemic control. We evaluated the feasibility of remote HbA1c monitoring via self-collection of capillary blood samples at home, and examined clinical characteristics associated with patient engagement.Methods: Bio-Rad Haemoglobin Capillary Collection System (HCCS) was used, with...

Background: Volumetric absorbent microsampling (VAMS) provides a less intrusive alternative to venepuncture when collecting blood samples for diagnostic testing. A small, precisely determined amount of capillary blood from a single finger-prick is absorbed into a medium for storage, from which it can later be extracted and analysed. In this study, we developed methods to measure four commonly requested endocrine/bone biomarkers for finger-prick blood samples analysis, and inve...

Background: Melatonin and cortisol production demonstrate circadian rhythms; disruption of these rhythms feature in endocrine and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Addison’s disease, Huntington’s disease (HD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Measuring serum and saliva concentrations at nadir is challenging using immunoassays. We have developed LC-MSMS methods for measuring serum and saliva melatonin, cortisol and cortisone to analyse 24hr profile samples obtained from sleep st...

Background: Extrapulmonary PD NECs carry a poor prognosis. Some studies suggest cisplatin is more appropriate for younger patients due to its increased potency and nephrotoxicity compared to carboplatin, but randomized trials are lacking. We aim to determine whether there is a difference in outcomes for cisplatin vs carboplatin while adjusting for possible confounding factors.Methods: We identified PD NEC patients at Mayo Clinic between 2000-2022. Kaplan...

Section 1: Case history: A 23-year-old female presented to the Emergency Department with a 3-month history of intermittent chest pain and palpitations. She was found to be hypokalaemic and hypocalcaemic. On direct-questioning she reported 3 weeks of perioral paraesthesia and muscle spasms. She had an unrestricted diet and no other personal or family history of note. She was normotensive with a sinus tachycardia and normal QT-interval, Chvostek’s negative, with no features...

Section 1: Case history: A case of a 23-year-old lady with a known history of Perthes disease, pulmonary stenosis, bronchial asthma, primary hypothyroidism on levothyroxine and newly diagnosed hypertension on amlodipine, who presented to Accident and Emergency with symptoms of generalised lethargy, weakness of the upper and lower limbs, rapid onset of weight gain for 6 months, increasing abdominal girth and recurrent genital thrush.Section 2: Investigati...

Background: Diagnosis and treatment guidelines of men with adult-onset testosterone deficiency (TD) were published by the British Society for Sexual Medicine (2017). Laboratory practice has a major role in supporting these with accurate and precise total testosterone (TT) methods and standardised pre- and post-analytical protocols.Objective: Our study investigated whether laboratory practice supported management guidelines of adult-onset TD.<p class=...

Introduction: Effective transition care is vital to empower young people (YP) to optimally self-manage their diabetes. National data highlights the concern regarding poorer care outcomes due to lower completion of annual care processes and higher rates of DKA whilst transitioning to adult care. The Children and Young People’s Diabetes Team provides care for 170 YP aged 16–19 years. In April 2017, 19% of this age group had a HbA1c <58 mmol/mol, significantly lower...

Context: Postzygotic activating mutations in GNAS are responsive for fibrous dysplasia (FD) and McCune-Albright Syndrome (MAS). MAS is a rare disease associating fibrous dysplasia, to skin pigmentation and endocrine disorders. The classic genetic non-invasive methods are insufficiently sensitive to detect GNAS mutation, due to a low level of mosaicism in blood. Early diagnostic should allow a follow-up and a therapeutic choice adapted to the MAS context in or...