Annual Conference of the Society of
Endocrinology - 3rd November 2003
By:
Katherine White
Wednesday, 10. December 2003
Earlier this year, the ADSHG was
invited to speak at the Nurses Session of the Society for
Endocrinology annual conference. (Maggie Carson extended
the invitation on behalf of the Nursing Committee). Our
topic was to be: Steroid replacement therapy: insights
from the patient’s perspective.
ADSHG presentation to the annual conference
of the
Society for Endocrinology
3 November 2003
Steroid
replacement therapy: insights from the patient’s
perspective
In
August 2003 we submitted an advance summary (abstract)
of our presentation, which has been published by the
Society for Endocrinology along with all the other
conference papers.
There
was a lot of work involved in preparing our material for
the conference, as we drew on the early results from the
international Addison’s survey to support our points.
Alyson Elliott, Dory Scott, Jan Snaith, Katherine White
and Pat Beeching all worked hard to pull the conference
material together, and all travelled in to London to
participate in the Nurses Session of the conference.
Then
on 3 November we spoke to the set of slides which follow.
Our presentation was thoughtfully received by an audience
of around 50 endocrine nurses and endocrine consultants
from throughout the UK.
If
you are interested, you can read all the conference
abstracts at
www.endocrine-abstracts.org.
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Presentation summary:
The
challenges of medication management in adrenal
insufficiency
With the right balance of daily medication, individuals
with adrenal insufficiency can expect to have a normal
life span and to lead busy and rewarding lives. Despite
this, research finds that people with adrenal
insufficiency (Addison’s disease) often feel below par
compared to healthy individuals.[1]
[2]
One recent study found that the rate of hospital admission
for adrenal crisis is almost three times higher for women
with autoimmune adrenalitis than it is for patients with
secondary adrenal insufficiency.[3]
This
seminar will consider the challenges for people with
adrenal insuffiency as they relate to medication
management. It will draw on the findings of the 2003
international membership survey undertaken by the UK
Addison’s Disease Self-Help Group in collaboration with
the Australian Addison’s Disease Association and Canadian
Addison’s Society. Professor John Wass of the Radcliffe
Infirmary, Oxford, has generously given his time to
supervise this research; preliminary analysis of this
survey data will be available in autumn 2003.
Specifically, the seminar will address:
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The
importance of the timing for steroid replacement therapy
and the number of split doses per day.
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Crisis prevention and Crisis management, with reference
to patient education and the role of paramedics.
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Quality of life in Addison’s disease, relative to a
control group of healthy volunteers.
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The
prevalence of related endocrine/autoimmune conditions in
autoimmune adrenalitis, particularly hypothyroidism,
diabetes and coeliac disease; the implications of these
‘disease clusters’ for quality of life and medication
management.
[1] Lovas K, Loge JH, Husebye
ES. Subjective health status in Norwegian patients with
Addison’s disease. Clinc Enocrinol (Oxf) 2002; 56:
581-88
[2] Hunt PJ, Gurnell EM,
Huppert FA , et al, Improvement in mood and fatigue after
Dehydroepiandrosterone replacement in Addison’s disease in
a randomised, double blind trial J. Clin Endocrinol
Metab 2000; 85: 4650-56
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