Endocrine
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To quantify adrenocorticotropin and cortisol secretion after epidural glucocorticoid injection. ⋯ Epidural triamcinolone suppresses unstimulated and CRH-stimulated ACTH and cortisol secretion for 1-4 weeks but urinary free cortisol ≥12 weeks. Suppression of ACTH and cortisol after glucocorticoid treatment is thus complex.
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To investigate the characteristics of difficult intubation and identify novel efficient predictors in patients with acromegaly. ⋯ In patients with acromegaly, neck movement is confined, the time of tracheal intubation is prolonged, and the neck circumference is enlarged, and these patients suffer from an increased incidence of difficult intubation (62.5%) during anesthesia induction. The apnea/hypoxia index and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels are both increased in acromegalic patients with difficult intubation, and elevated insulin-like growth factor 1 levels are an independent risk factor of difficult intubation in acromegalic patients.
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Investigate the association of calcium levels on admission and change in levels during hospitalization with hospitalization outcomes. ⋯ Abnormal calcium on admission is associated with increased short-term and long-term mortality. The excess mortality risk is higher with hypercalcemia than hypocalcemia. Calcium normalization before discharge had no effect on mortality.
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The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the incremental diagnostic value of single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography with iodine-131 over planar whole body scan in the staging of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. A total of 365 patients (270 female, 95 male) with differentiated thyroid carcinoma were treated with radioiodine therapy for thyroid remnant ablation with radical intent after thyroidectomy between January 2013 and November 2014. In addition to planar whole body scan, single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography of neck and chest were performed. ⋯ The TNM classification changed in 13 out of 22 patients. Single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography improves detection and localization of the iodine-131 uptake after thyroidectomy in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and it is more accurate than whole body scan to evaluate lymph nodes and to identify and characterize distant metastases. Single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography aids assessment of lower/upper stage in a significant number of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and it can affect therapy decision-making and patient management.
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Diabetic ketoacidosis is an infrequent but life-threatening acute complication of diabetes, affecting predominantly patients with type 1 diabetes, children, and pregnant women, where ketosis is usually associated with marked hyperglycemia. Recently, an increasing number of cases have been reported of euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis in patients with type 2 diabetes receiving sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor treatment in routine practice. There is a minor, but not negligible diabetic ketoacidosis risk associated with this drug class, which was not seen in randomized clinical trials. ⋯ This option is offered by several blood glucose meters that can also measure ketones with a separate ketone strip or in one case by an automatic parallel ketone assessment from the same strip. The need for extra testing and the associated costs may be a barrier to patient acceptance of this risk mitigation procedure. However, patients who are at risk for euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis when being treated with sodium-glucose cotransporter2 inhibitors should be specially advised to monitor blood ketone levels on a regular basis.