Prevalence, risk factors and evolution of diabetes mellitus after treatment in primary aldosteronism. Results from the SPAIN-ALDO registry.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence, risk factors and evolution of diabetes mellitus (DM) after targeted treatment in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). METHODS: A retrospective multicenter study of PA patients in follow-up at 27 Spanish tertiary hospitals (SPAIN-ALDO Register). RESULTS: Overall, 646 patients with PA were included. At diagnosis, 21.2% (n = 137) had DM and 67% of them had HbA1c levels < 7%. In multivariate analysis, family history of DM (OR 4.00 [1.68-9.53]), the coexistence of dyslipidemia (OR 3.57 [1.51-8.43]) and advanced age (OR 1.04 per year of increase [1.00-1.09]) were identified as independent predictive factors of DM. Diabetic patients were on beta blockers (46.7% (n = 64) vs. 27.5% (n = 140), P < 0.001) and diuretics (51.1% (n = 70) vs. 33.2% (n = 169), p < 0.001) more frequently than non-diabetics. After a median follow-up of 22 months [IQR 7.5-63.0], 6.9% of patients developed DM, with no difference between those undergoing adrenalectomy and those treated medically (HR 1.07 [0.49-2.36], p = 0.866). There was also no significant difference in the evolution of glycemic control between DM patients who underwent surgery and those medically treated (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: DM affects about one quarter of patients with PA and the risk factors for its development are common to those of the general population. Medical and surgical treatment provides similar benefit in glycemic control in patients with PA and DM.

[Application of recombinant human TSH in the diagnostic protocol of differentiated thyroid carcinoma]. / Aplicación de la TSH humana recombinante en el protocolo diagnóstico del cáncer diferenciado de tiroides.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the preliminary results of the application of this new technique in the diagnostic protocol in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 131I Whole body scan (WBS) was made under rhTSH stimulation in a group of 102 patients with DTC in follow-up, all treated by means of total thyroidectomy. The administration guideline was a dose of 0.9 mg of rhTSH (intramuscular) for two consecutive days, followed by oral activity of 185 MBq of 131I 24 hours after the last rhTSH injection, and later scintigraphic scan after 48 hours of the administration of 131I. Serum samples for TSH, thyroglobulin and antithyroglobulin antibodies determination were collected at 24 and 72 hours of the last administration of the rhTSH. Measures were made by means of immunometric assays. RESULTS: TSH values at 24 hours after exogenous stimulation were 147.54 +/- 46.46 mIU/l. In 62 patients values of negative Tg were obtained (< 1 ng/ml), 50 of which presented negative WBS and 12 positive. 37 patients had positive Tg, 17 of whom presented negative WBS (confirming presence of disease in 7 patient by means of other imaging techniques) and 20 positive. CONCLUSIONS: In every case, administration of rhTSH produced a significant increase of the TSH, making it possible to perform the usual controls of patient management (determination of serum Tg and WBS), similarly to the hormone withdrawal situation. There is no evidence of significant side effects, and its use makes it possible to avoid disadvantages derived from the hormonal withdrawal, maintaining a good quality of life in patients.

[Early detection and control of hospital malnutrition]. / Detección precoz y control de la desnutrición hospitalaria.

Over the last 25 years, hospital malnutrition has received attention by only a part of the medical staff who have been reporting that 25-50% of the hospitalized patients had some degree of malnutrition worsening during hospital stay. The causes of such high malnutrition rates, the reliability of the detection and nutritional assessment methodology and the clinical and financial consequences are established in all these reported studies. An early nutritional intervention on individuals at high risk would provide a better prognosis, improving the mortality and morbidity rates and reducing the hospital costs. Many programs for the nutritional assessment have been developed, some of which are being used in the clinical practice; the data collection requires a direct intervention upon the patients though, not being suitable to identify the nutrition risk of all the patients on admission. We are proving a tool to screen the nutritional status of all the hospitalized patients, in order to achieve a proper and early treatment of the malnutrition in relationship with the underlying disease, the course of hospitalization and the procedures of therapy.

[Dietetics principles. The food pyramid. Disease-nutrition relationship]. / Principios de dietética. Pirámide de los alimentos. Relación enfermedad-nutrición.

Dietetics is a largely unknown discipline among medical professionals as it is not common for them to receive any training in the matter. Nonetheless, this group very often needs to give dietary counselling and even to draw up diets for patients, more often indeed than nutrition specialists. This paper attempts to review some of the basic concepts of dietetics and study in a general way the relationship between illness and nutritional status without going into too much detail as many of the points mentioned here are referred to more fully in other articles in the same monograph.