Endocrine Abstracts

Case: A 41-year-man presented to his GP with a pruritic skin rash affecting the whole body but sparing the face. He was treated with antihistamines with no improvement. On investigation thyroid function tests showed free T4 48 pmol/l, free T3 11.6 pmol/l with suppressed TSH<0.1 mU/l. He was started on carbimazole and referred to endocrinology. At the clinic it was noted that he has lost weight, felt hot all the time. There was no past history of rash....

Introduction: Guidelines for the use of GH in GH deficient adults were issued by the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). To assess current practice in relation to these guidelines, a review of patients receiving GH treatment was performed. The aims were to i) assess if adults with GH deficiency met NICE criteria for GH therapy and ii) identify reasons for initiating or continuing GH treatment if NICE criteria were not met.Methods: Retro...

Introduction: Large prolactinomas are uncommon and there is limited information on their presentation and progression. In this study we reviewed the presenting features, associated endocrinopathy and the response to treatment.Methods: 16 patients (aged 20–80 years, 75% male) were identified from our endocrine database as presenting with prolactin >20,000 mU/l between 1985 and 2005.Results: 75% of patients presented with ma...

We report 28 patients (21M 7F; 17-86y) with pituitary apoplexy presenting between 1988 and 2004. Presenting features included: headache in 25 patients, 'collapse' in 3, vomiting in 13, complete blindness in 4, decreased visual acuity in 13, visual field loss in 12 and ophthalmoplegia in 16. Only 4 had no initial visual deficit. Predisposing factors included a known pituitary tumour in 4 patients, anticoagulant therapy in 3 patients and ITP in 1 patient. CT was initial imaging ...