Endocrine Abstracts

We have come a long way in the last ten years towards meeting the educational needs of nurses specialising in adult endocrinology. Endocrine nurses are now able to access annual training courses (renamed updates in 2010) and attend specific nurse-led sessions at scientific meetings thanks to the ongoing work undertaken by the Society for Endocrinology’s nurse committee. It is therefore time to turn our attention to how we can encourage nurses to want to specialise in endo...

Historically, many endocrine specialist nurses (ESN) worked in ‘isolation’, with little peer support, ‘learning on the job’, there were few external training opportunities and their roles developed according to local expectations and needs.In 1997, a small group of ESN met to establish a support network for themselves and their colleagues. Within a year they had successfully developed links with the Society for Endocrinology (S for E)...

We have come a long way in the UK over the past ten years towards our goal of meeting the educational needs of nurses specialising in adult endocrinology. Endocrine nurses are now able to access annual training updates and attend specific nurse-led sessions at scientific meetings thanks to the ongoing work undertaken by the Society for Endocrinology’s nurse committee.It is therefore time to turn our attention to how we can encourage nurses to want t...

The reported incidence of thyroid dysfunction associated with interferon-α (IFNα) treatment for hepatitis C infection varies widely between countries.1 To our knowledge the spectrum of thyroid dysfunction in IFNα-treated Irish patients has not been described outside of an anti-D-related, hepatitis C-infected cohort.We reviewed thyroid function tests (TFTs) from all Hepatitis C positive patients undergoing IFNα treatment ove...

Objective: The aim of our audit was to determine the effectiveness of first dose Radioiodine (RAI) in curing thyrotoxicosis, comparing our results with published rates of success and hypothyroidism.Methods: All patients with thyrotoxicosis treated with RAI between 2002 – 2004 (n=71) were identified and casenotes reviewed. Patients were either given nominal doses of either 259 or 407 MBq. Data collected included: the cause of thyrotoxicosis, g...

Introduction: Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) affects quality of life causing a negative impact on psychosocial life. Previous findings identifed the phenomenon of an altered sense of identity with associated lowered-self esteem, social withdrawal and isolation. How this ‘altered identity’ influences interactions with Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) has not been investigated.Study aim: To explore the nature of interactions between HCPs and patients w...

Phaeochromocytomas (PCC) and paragangliomas (PGL) are rare tumours derived from the sympathetic or parasympathetic paraganglia. They characteristically secrete catecholamines (noradrenaline/adrenaline/dopamine), which are metabolised to the metanephrines (normetadrenaline/metadrenaline/3-MT respectively). These tumour markers can be detected in acidified 24-h urine collections as first-line investigative tests. Plasma 3-MT has been characterised as a biomarker of metastatic PG...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumour characterised by a high rate of recurrence following radical surgery. Surgery of recurrent ACC may increase survival; thus, it is mandatory a timely and accurate detection of recurrence, either to increase the chance of radical extirpation or to avoid unnecessary surgery. This study investigated the role of PET–CT in the diagnosis of recurrence of ACC during follow-up of disease-free patients and analyzed whether this tool m...

Aim: To assess whether adults in Scotland currently receiving growth hormone (GH) meet the NICE criteria for starting and continuing GH replacement.Methods: We surveyed all endocrinologists in Scotland and identified the main centres using GH replacement. A cross-sectional case note review was carried out of all patients commenced on GH.Results: About 208 patients (51% women; 24% professionals, 90% Caucasian) were identified, 69 of...

Aim of this study is to present preliminary epidemiological data on a population of 1512 acromegalic patients attending 22 tertiary centers in Italy from 1980 to 2002. At our knowledge this is the first large–scale epidemiological Italian study on acromegaly. Gender was 624 (41.2%) men and 888 (58.8%) women. Mean age at diagnosis was 45±13 years, 43±13 for men and 47±13 for women. Median estimated duration of acromegaly before diagnosis was 74 months (range...