Endocrine Abstracts

Thyrotoxic storm is one of the rare but serious, and sometimes life threatening endocrine emergencies, the mortality rate ranges from 20 to 30%.We report the case of a 44-year-old female who had an emergency hospital admission with diarrhoea, vomiting and palpitations in September, 2011. She was diagnosed with Graves thyrotoxicosis in 2004 and was commenced on carbimazole. She was non compliant with the treatment and did not attend her hospital appointme...

Background: Thyroid function within the normal range has been shown to influence body weight in a population. Even slightly elevated serum TSH levels are associated with an increase in the occurrence of obesity. It is unclear whether significant weight loss has the reverse effect on thyroid function, and studies to date have yielded inconsistent results.Aims: Our aim was to describe changes in TSH and fT4 in relation to durable and significant...

Objectives: A retrospective review of adult patients with Turner syndrome (TS) attending a joint Turner syndrome clinic.Methods: Sixty-two adult patients with TS clinic were identified. Data was collected from case notes and electronic records.Results: Diagnosis was prenatal/at birth in 20%, 1–10 years in 29%, 11–20 years in 47% and after 21 years in one patient. Common presenting complaints were short stature (51%) and p...

Objective: To audit the investigation and diagnosis of severe hyponatraemia (serum sodium ≤125 mmol/l) in elderly (age ≥65 years) medical in-patients admitted with this problem.Method: Standards for the investigation and diagnosis of hyponatraemia were designed after literature review and discussions with local endocrinologists. Elderly patients with hyponatraemia on admission were identified retrospectively over a 12 month period from the la...

The role of environmental and occupational toxins in the aetiology of unexplained infertility remains to be fully explored. Epidemiological studies have implicated heavy metals, including cadmium as having a pathogenic role with studies demonstrating associations between serum levels, testicular function and gonadotrophin levels in large cohort studies. Cadmium toxicity is associated with a complex spectrum of effects. Whilst the renal complications are well described, putativ...

Hyperthyroidism complicates ~1 in 1000–2000 pregnancies, with majority of cases due to Grave’s disease (GD). PTU remains the preferred ATD of choice in pregnancy with carbimazole a reasonable second-line alternative in patients allergic or intolerant to PTU. We present the case of a lady with PTU induced agranulocytosis in pregnancy.A 29-year-old lady was seen in thyroid clinic in May 2006 having had symptoms suggestive of thyrotoxicosis since ...

We present a case of primary hyperparathyroidism in a pregnant woman presenting with recurrent vomiting.A 34 year-old Asian woman was admitted with nausea and vomiting at 8 weeks gestation. Clinical examination was unremarkable apart from dehydration. Electrolytes and thyroid function were within normal limits. A diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum was made and patient was discharged after rehydration. Over the next eight weeks she presented with similar...

ObjectiveThe incidence of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) in the UK diabetic population is around 1–2% and MODY can also present for the first time in pregnancy. About 70% of cases are caused by mutations in the HNF1α gene. A diagnosis of MODY can affect management following delivery and informs patients. However, untargeted testing is not cost-effective. We wished to see whether screening a sub-group of pregnant women with a high r...

OBJECTIVE Induction of anaesthesia and surgical stress, factors known to trigger catecholamine release from phaeochromocytomas, are believed to result in elevated levels in the postoperative period even in the absence of such tumours, and biochemical screening is usually deferred for two or more weeks following surgery. The aim of this study was to determine patterns of peri-operative urinary catecholamine excretion in otherwise healthy subjects undergoing a single type of maj...

Case History: A 69-year-old woman with bipolar schizoaffective disorder of 11 year’s duration and recent diagnosis of atrial fibrilation was admitted with acute onset of delirium, lethargy, shakiness and confusion. On admission, the patient was restless and non-compliant. Her skin was warm and sweaty, clinically dehydrated. Her heart rate ranging between 75 and 100 /min. The rhythm was irregular, consistent with atrial fibrillation on ECG and was afebrile. She was oriented to ...