Endocrine Abstracts

Severe Hypercalcaemia can present as a life threatening emergency requiring urgent measures to lower the calcium. Usually, this is associated with Primary Hyperparathyroidism. It can result in obtundation, oliguria, anuria, collapse or arrhythmias. It is important to act fast and decisively to prevent fatal complications.We describe a 39 year old gentleman who was a tennis coach, who was brought after he collapsed in his bathroom. ...

Background: The exposure to HAART has increased the chances of developing Diabetes among HIV patients. Hyperglycaemia is more common among those on Protease inhibitors (PI)-based regimens compared to other regimens. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c ) is now being recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for the screening of Diabetes because of convenience as it does not require fasting.Objective: We aimed to dete...

A 23-year-old female with severe resistant hypertension was referred to our Hospital. Her BP on arrival was 240/140 mmHg and she was 13 weeks pregnant. Labetalol had been prescribed previously (200 mg,TDS), with little success in controlling her symptoms. The patient reported headaches, migraines and flushing for several years, especially after eating, and worse during pregnancy. The patient had pre-eclampsia in her first pregnancy.<p class="abst...

Lymphocytic hypophysitis (LyH) is a rare condition often associated with pregnancy (usually presenting in the last month of pregnancy or in the first two post-partum months). We describe a very rare case of recurrent LyH during two pregnancies.A 25-years old woman presented in 7/2003 with a 6-week history of headaches and a 2-week history of visual deterioration whilst 38 weeks pregnant. Bitemporal hemianopia was co...

Obesity is linked to an increased risk of 13 different cancers in adulthood. The environment supporting this increased risk is multi-factorial but includes metabolic dysregulation, chronic inflammation and the loss of the anti-tumour activity of cells such natural killer (NK) cells. We present data which shows that this pro-cancer environment starts early in children with obesity, potentially increasing their risk of future disease. We investigated a cohort of 50 children with...

Introduction: Although significant developments have been achieved in the management of steroid-dependent patients, little progress has been made in ensuring their safety using smartphone technology. We present the use of a novel app in steroid-dependent patients.Methods: A group of unselected individuals currently on steroid replacement due to adrenal insufficiency (AI) were assessed regarding their access to intramuscular (IM) hydrocortisone. A smartph...

Plasma adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) is extremely labile and far from an ideal analyte for use in the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. Processing of ACTH by some ectopic tumours releases high levels of smaller ACTH-like fragments, α-MSH and CLIP, which can interfere with individual antibodies in current diagnostic immunoassays. Furthermore, cross-reactivity with the precursor of ACTH, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), increases the likelihood of erroneous interpretations an...

Introduction: Thyroid storm, a life-threatening endocrine emergency, requires prompt intervention and treatment to improve outcomes. The diagnosis is made clinically, based on symptoms including hyperpyrexia, tachycardia, nausea, diarrhoea and altered cognition. The Burch-Wartofsky (BW) score is a symptom-based score recommended to determine the likelihood of thyroid storm. This retrospective study aims to determine use of the BW scale and its effect on management.<p class...

Background: Adrenal incidentalomas are common and require investigation to exclude malignancy and evidence of hormone overproduction. Prospective screening programmes are essential for early detection of cancer but often lead to incidental findings which have potential health economic implications and may increase patient anxiety. With regards to investigation of incidental adrenal nodules, current national lung cancer screening recommendations are not in keeping with current ...

Background: Radioiodine therapy (I-131) is commonly prescribed for benign thyroid disease in keeping with recommended guidelines.Aims: To determine the effectiveness of I-131 in treating benign thyroid disease and the rates of hypothyroidism following treatment and by diagnosis.Methods: We identified 100 patients who received radioiodine therapy between November 2013 and June 2015 from a database held in the Medical Physics Departm...