Clinical endocrinology
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Clinical endocrinology · Aug 2006
Age changes the diagnostic accuracy of mean profile and nadir growth hormone levels after oral glucose in postoperative patients with acromegaly.
This analytical, retrospective study was designed to select cut-off thresholds of mean GH levels during a diurnal profile and nadir GH levels after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to age to diagnose surgical remission of acromegaly. ⋯ The criteria currently accepted for diagnosing post-surgical remission of acromegaly have high diagnostic accuracy only in the patients aged below 60 years. In older patients, lower cut-offs (i.e. = 1.4 microg/l for fasting GH and = 0.5 microg/l for nadir GH after OGTT) predict normal IGF-I levels. Mean GH levels during a diurnal profile have similar diagnostic accuracy of nadir GH levels after OGTT. This suggests that OGTT is not necessary to establish surgical cure.