Week 2 Diabetes & endocrine Flashcards
hypothyroidism on exam
- Puffy or pale face
- Dry hair, brittle nails
- Weight gain
- Delayed relaxation of deep tendon reflexes (DTRs)
- Cerebellar ataxia
- Bradycardia
- Diastolic hypertension
- Goiter may be present
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- More common in younger pts
primary vs secondary hypothyroidism
- Primary [TSH increased]
- thyroid is the problem it self
- autoimmune (most common)
- drugs
- Secondary aka centra hypothyroidism [TSH decreased]
- damage to pituitary
- associated with other signs of pituitary hormone insufficiency
- pituitary disease or tumor
- Less common
hypothyroidism risk factors
- Amiodarone (contains iodine)
- Female
- Older age
- Iodine deficiency
- radiation for head and neck
- cancer
- Personal or family history of
- autoimmune disease
- Down syndrome
- Turner syndrome
- Postpartum thyroiditis
- Goiter with positive thyroid antibodies
- Thyroidectomy
- Type 1 DM and vitiligo
hypothyroidism diagnostics
- Order TSH with reflex (with T4 if abnormal)
- Thyroid hormone will always be low but TSH level varies
- primary cause: TSH will be high
- secondary cause: TSH low or normal
- If suspect secondary hypothyroidism: check both TSH and free T4
- If have sx’s of irregular menses, galactorrhea, h/a
- If abnormal TSH or high TSH, check thyroid peroxidase/TPO antibody
- Will be elevated in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis
- If have goiter, check anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
elevated TSH and normal TH levels:
5-10 TSH vs >10 TSH
check TPO antibody → can indicate autoimmune thyroiditis (increases risk of hypothyroidism in future)
if > 10 TSH, give levothyroxine!
primary hypothyroidism management /education
- Levothyroxine 1.6 mcg/kg/day
- Low dose in coronary artery disease or older age
- Recheck TSH in 6–8 weeks to see if euthyroid
- If euthyroid, check yearly
- Educate: 1st thing in morning empty stomach
- Wait ½ hr before anything to eat
- Don’t take with vitamins
- Space it 4 hrs so doesn’t interfere with thyroxine
1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester TSH goals
if pt becomes positive during hypothyroid tx, need to increase dose by 30%
1st: < 0.5-2.5
2nd & 3rd: < 3
monitor TSH q 4 weeks until 30 weeks, then once in 3rd trimester
Referral hypothryoid pt to endocrinology
- Infants and children
- Unresponsive to therapy
- Pregnancy
- Cardiac patients
- Nodule or structural problem of thyroid
- Presence of other endocrine disease
- Unusual constellation of thyroid test results
subacute thyroiditis
from recent viral illness
- Concurrent fever, URI
- Thyroid is painful and tender
- starts out with hyperthyroid low TSH, high T4 then hypothyroid then euthyroid
- tx
- NSAIDs/aspirin for pain, or prednisone taper
postpartum thyroiditis
- PAINLESS thyroiditis
- Becomes thyrotoxic (becomes hyperthryoid briefly)
- Then transitions to hypothyroidism lasting 5-6 months and recovers to euthyroid
- 40% go on to develop overt hypothyroidism
graves disease
- Autoimmune
- Autoantibodies bind to the TSH receptors → stimulates TH into body
- Risk factors: similar to thyroiditis and hypothyroidism
- Cause:
- Toxic multinodular goiter
Toxic multinodular goiter
- chronic lack of dietary iodine (can’t make iodine = less TH) → pituitary releases TSH & causes thyroid to hypertrophy
- Evaluated with radioactive/thyroid uptake scan
- If confirmed dx, treat with surgery or medication
- Referred to endocrine to manage
Graves disease diagnostics
- Low TSH
- Elevated T4, Free T3 or total T3
- Thyrotropin receptor antibodies
- Positive in 98% of patients with untreated Graves’
- • Helps confirm diagnosis
- Elevated: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and liver function tests (LFTs), Alk phos
- CBC
- If see nodule, do imaging study
- graves disease management
- Refer to endo
- Refer to opthalm if ophthalmopathy
- Tx
-
Antithyroid meds
-
Methimazole
- Use in 2nd and 3rd trimester
-
Propylthiouracil/PTU
- Use in 1st trimester
-
Methimazole
- Radioactive iodine (131 therapy if more than 10 yrs old)
- Thyroidectomy
- Beta blockers
For palpitations, tremors
-
Antithyroid meds
- Monitoring:
- CBC, LFTs before med therapy
- monitor q 2-8 weeks until stable if on meds
- Meds taken for 1-2 years
- Remission is 40%
- Meds is preferred during pregnancy
- Mild, older age, ophthalmopathy → medications
Hyperthyroidism complications
- Thyroid storm
- Med emergency
- Fever, tachycardia, edema, arrhythmias, CNS sx’s, GI sx’s
- Med emergency
- Osteoporosis
- If postmenopausal, do bone density scan
- Atrial fib
- Worsening HF
Thyroid nodules
- during PE, note size, consistency, mobility, and presence/consistency of lymphadenopathy
- solid vs cystic
- If < 1 cm, don’t need FNA (rarely malignant)
- 90% nodules are benign
- High cure rate for malignancy
- typically non painful, non tender
- get thyroid function test and US, if sus on US → fine needle aspiration
clinical finding suggesting cancer in euthyroid pt with nodule (high vs mod suspicion)
- thyroid US on all patients
- high suspicion:
- family hx of medullary thyroid carcinoma
- rapid tumor growth esp during levo therapy
- very firm/hard nodule
- fixed nodule
- paralysis of vocal cords
- regional lympathadneoepathy
- distant metastasis
- moderate sus
- < 20 or >70 yrs old
- male
- hx head /neck radiation
- sx of compression (dysphagia, dystonia, hoarseness, dyspnea, cough)
sus for malignancy thyroid nodules
- Repeat exam, US, and TSH in 12 months
- If unchanged nodule, repeat at 24 months
- Consider repeating fine needle aspiration (FNA) if increased more than 50%
- • Surgery if large size (more than 4 cm) or symptomatic
benign growth on parathyroid gland
- common cause
- hyper more common than hypo (growth causes more PTH released and increase CA levels)
primary vs secondary vs tertiary hyperparathyroidism
- Primary:
- gland itself
- growth/tumor on gland
- neck/radiation or trauma
- Secondary
- compensatory response to hypOcalcemia
- vit D deficiency
- CKD/renal failure
- compensatory response to hypOcalcemia
- Tertiary
- long standing secondary hyperparathyroidism → permanently overactive
sx’s hypercalcemia/hyperparathryoidism
“bones, stones, thrones, abdominal groans, psychic moans”
- stones: kidney stones, gall stones
- thrones: polyuria
- groans: constipation, muscle weakness
- bones: osteoporosis
- psychotic moans: mental status changes
HyperCa/HyperPara diagnostics
- repeat serum Ca to confirm
- 24 hour urine calcium
- Phosphate
- Vitamin D
- Alkaline phosphatase
- PTH assay (if PTH is dependent or independent)
- independent: need calcitriol level, PTHrP level
- if high levels of PTH, Ca, Alk Phos → consider malignancy
- if high levels of PTH, Ca, low Phos → primary hyperparathyroidism
- if high levels of PTH, high/N Phos, low/N Ca → secondary
- if high levels of PTH, Ca, phos → tertiary
hyperCa/parathyroidism imaging
- bone density scan (lumbar, hip, distal radius)
- xray
- abdominal ultrasound (renal stones)
hyperCa/parathyroidism management
- Endocrine referral
- Surgical referral
- Criteria:
- Need to be symptomatic
- Recurrent neprholithaissi
- Osteoporosis
- Fractures
- Ca > 1 mg per deciliter above normal limits
- Criteria:
- Medical management - if mild
- Monitor labs and bone density
- Ca, Vit D
- Increase fluid intake
- Weight bearing exercise
- Ca Crisis
- Sx’s: Ca increase 14 or higher
- need aggressive IV NS restoration of volume status
- Referral to ED
- symptomatic hyperca with n/v
- Sx’s: Ca increase 14 or higher
Pituitary adenomas
- Benign 10-15% intracranial masses
- < 1 cm = microadenoma
- > 1 cm = macroadenoma
- majority are prolactinomas (secrete prolactin) 40-57%
- 11% Growth hormone tumors
- 2% ACTH secreting (cushings)
Cushing syndrome
- highest ACTH release when waking up, lowest at night
- overproduction of cortisol from adrenal
- Most common: high doses of steroids for long periods of time causes suppression of pituitary ACTH production
- steroids used > 10-14 days for asthma management, derm, neoplasma = careful monitoring for suppression
- Long term exogenous > 15 mg/day → suppresses HPA axis
- < 3 weeks okay
- Heavier steroid dose should be done in morning cus night suppresses the morning pulse significantly
- take heavier steroid dose in morning
- Most common: high doses of steroids for long periods of time causes suppression of pituitary ACTH production
Cushing disease
pituitary caused symptoms
Cushing syndrome sx’s
- Elevated cortisol levels
- Central obesity, hirsutism, purple striae
- psychological , skin , short term memory, menstrual irregularities, h/a
- Buffalo hump dorsocervical fat pad
- Increased supraclavicular fat pad
- Muscle wasting/weakness
- Acne
- Emotional liability/depression
- Senile purprua on the hands/bruses
- Most common cause: exogenous steroids
- Long term prednisone
- Women >>
- 50-60 yrs
- Acanthosis nigricans
- Galactorrhea, irregular menses (decreased LH/fsh)
cushing syndrome diagnostics
- Testing needs to be done in ABSENCE of acute illness
- Dx: > 100 mcg of cortisol in urine during 24 hr period
- or single midnight (nadir) serum cortisol >7.5 (100% specificity/96 sensitivity)
- Initial testing, 1 of the following:
- 24-hour urine-free cortisol 2 times
- Late-night salivary cortisol 2 times
- Low-dose dexamethasone suppression test
- Take low dose at 10pm then blood draw/cortisol taken next day
- Healthy person: cortisol is suppressed
- Cushing: don’t see cortisol suppression
- Refer to endocrinology even if abnormal test or not :
- If initial testing is positive
- If high clinical suspicion and testing is negative
Cushing treatment
- Cushing disease:
- first line: Surgical resection via transsphenoidal surgery (pituitary tumor resection)
- Daily ketoconazole admin (mitigates cortisol impact)
- chemo, radiation
pituitary prolactinoma
- Secreting excess prolactin hormone
- Females 20-50 yrs
- Oligomenorrhea
- • Galactorrhea
- • Vaginal dryness
- • Hirsutism
- Males
- Erectile dysfunction
- • Decreased body and facial
- hair
- • Gynecomastia
- Both
- Infertility
- Loss of interest in sex
- Low bone density
- Headaches
- Visual disturbance
- Delayed puberty
Pituitary prolactinema on exam
- Thorough ophthalmic exam
- Neuro exam - visual field defects
- Tumors can impinge on optic apparatus
- Hirsutism
- Acne
- Hair growth
- Thyroid exam - goiter
- Children
- Puberty changes
- Look for hypogonadism
- gynecomastia and galactorrhea
pituitary prolactinemia diagnostics
- Prolactin hormone
- If have sx’s, get level
- If asx, consider repeating in morning
- Prolactin levels correlate with size of adenoma
- Bigger = higher prolactin
- Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine
- HCG if child bearing age
- r/o pregnancy
- TSH/free T4
- r/o hypothyroidism
- ALT/AST - liver dz or hepatitis
- Get MRI to search for prolactinoma
- Refer to endo
- Refer ophthalmology (neuro-opth exam)
- If have microadenoma and asx, don’t need treatment
- If microadenoma and sx, treat
- All macroadenoma → treat
pituitary prolactinemia management
-
Cabergoline - dopamine agonist
- Preferred; fewer SE; greater efficacy
- Bromocriptine
- Respond fast with meds
- Monitor prolactin levels more freq in beginning and less freq ad time goes on
- Repeat MRI to know it’s decreasing in size
- After a few yrs, can get off meds if prolactin and MRI normal
hyperglycemia crisis: diabetic ketoacidosis
- blood sugar 250-300
- Ketones
- Acidosis
- Type 1 DM
- juvenile/kids
- pH < 7.3 (acidotic)
- Bicarb < 15
Hyperglycmeic crisis: Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS)
- Blood sugar 600
- Hyperglycemia
- Hyperosmolality
- Dehydration
- Alt mental status (brain swelling, coma, death)
- Type 2 DM
- Adults
- pH > 7.3
- Bicarb > 15
4 different diagnostic criteria for diabetes in NON pregnant adults?
If 1 is positive, need REPEAT test on different day OR a 2nd different test to confirm diagnosis using same sample or 2 separate test samples. Can be used to screen too.
- Fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL
- No food for 8 hrs
- Oral glucose tolerance test (75g) with plasma glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL 2 hours post glucose load
- HgbA1c ≥ 6.5
-
POC A1c testing is NOT recommended to diagnose but can use it for screen
- If elevated, f/u with primary care provider
-
POC A1c testing is NOT recommended to diagnose but can use it for screen
- Random glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL AND classic symptoms of hyperglycemia or hyperglycemic crisis (polyuria, polydipsia, or unexplained weight loss
which ONE test can diagnose diabetes right away?
having classic symptoms of hyperglycemia or hyperglycemic crisis AND a random glucose > 200 mg/dL
- want PLASMA glucose to dx (serum glucose varies 10-20% while plasma varies 1-3% in testing)
what conditions make A1C less accurate?
anything with rapid blood cell turnover
- anemia
- hemoglobinopathies
- recent blood loss/transfusion
- erythropoietin therapy
- hemolysis/hemodialysis