Serological Evidence and Self-Reported Outcomes in Patients with Adrenal Insufficiency During The First Waves of COVID-19 in the North- East Italy

Background: East during COVID-19 is a potentially serious and fatal new infection that first broke out in Italys North Eastduring Spring 2020. Among subjects considered more clinically vulnerable, patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) have a known increased risk of infections, that could lead to poor prognosis and death due to adrenal crisis. Even the psychological and sociooccupational impact of COVID-19 could affect the health of AI patients, requiring a dynamic and continuous adaptation of the daily glucocorticoid (GC) therapy. Aim(s): To investigate if AI patients have a higher risk for COVID-19 infection than the general population, all residents in the red zone Veneto, in North-East Italy. Moreover, based on a purpose-built ADDI-COVID questionnaire, the study aimed to evaluate the subjective perception of an increased risk for COVID-19 infection and pandemic-related psycho-social impact, working life and self-adjustments of GC therapy. Method(s): Open-label, cross-sectional monocentric study on 84 (65 primary and 19 secondary) AI patients, all resident in Veneto, followed-up at the Endocrinology Unit, University-Hospital of Padua, for at least 3 years, in good and stable clinical conditions. At the end of the first COVID-19 wave (by August 2020), all patients underwent serological investigation of anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG and ADDI-COVID questionnaire. All AI patients enrolled were contacted during March-April 2021 to evaluate eventual COVID-19 infection occurrence after the second and third waves, completing a follow-up period of about 12 months. Result(s): All AI patients resulted negative to the serological test for anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG at the end of the first wave of COVID-19. After the second and third pandemic waves, COVID-19 infection occurred in 8 (10%) patients, and none needed intensive care or hospitalization. Half patients felt an increased risk of COVID-19 infection, significantly associated with an increased stress (p = 0,009) and the consequent increase of GC stress-dose (p = 0,002). Only one patient reported adrenal crisis stress correlated. The great majority of the 61 (73%) worker patients changed their working habits during the lockdown, which was inversely related with COVID-19-related stress (p = 0,0015). A significant association was found between workers and endocri- nologist contact (p= 0,046) since 18 among 20 AI patients who contacted the endocrinologist were workers. Discussion and Conclusion(s): Patients with AI residence in Veneto did not show a higher incidence of COVID19-infection compared with general population residents in Veneto after the first pandemic waves. However, the perception of increased COVID- 19 infection risk significantly impacted the psychological well-being, working habits and GC daily doses of AI patients. Especially during this pandemic period, therapeutic patient education was crucial to prevent and treat situations or conditions that could lead to an adrenal crisis. The endocrinologic consultation could help to strengthen the awareness of AI patients, especially if they were workers.

Italian Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AME) 20th National Congress

The proceedings contain 9 papers. The topics discussed include: dulaglutide and NAFLD risk reduction;correlation between plasmatic long pentraxin PTX3 and nodular thyroid disease: a preliminary report;the fructose-bisphosphate aldolase a act as autoantigen in primary autoimmune hypophysitis;cortisol deficiency in Lenvatinib treatment;side effects of mitotane treatment: a retrospective study in 35 patients with adrenocortical carcinoma in adjuvant therapy;non-functioning pituitary adenoma: do predictor factors exist?;incidence and features of adrenal crisis in a series of 133 patients with Addison's disease;serological evidence and self-reported outcomes in patients with adrenal insufficiency during the first waves of COVID-19 in the North-East Italy;and persistent effects of spironolactone after its withdrawal in patients with hyperandrogenic skin disorders.

The Complexities of Managing Hypertriglyceridemia-Induced Pancreatitis in a Critically-Ill COVID-19 Patient

Introduction: Hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis (HTP) is a variant of pancreatitis requiring unique management. The complications of COVID-19 and its treatments can make HTP therapy more nuanced. This case describes a patient who presented in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with HTP, and COVID-19. The patient developed renal and respiratory failure, necessitating hemodialysis (HD) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), complicating an otherwise straightforward medical management plan. Case Description: A morbidly obese (BMI 38.9 kg/m2) 43-year-old male presented to an outside hospital with abdominal pain, and vomiting, and was found to have HTP with triglycerides (TG) >2000 mg/dL (<149 mg/dL) and presumed new-onset type 2 Diabetes (HbA1c 10.9%) with DKA. Treatment with fluids, intravenous (IV) insulin infusion and plasmapheresis were initiated. He developed hypoxia after receiving over 17 liters of fluids and was intubated, subsequently developing renal failure and was transferred to our tertiary center for HD and ECMO. On admission, he tested positive for COVID-19, rhabdomyolysis [creatinine kinase 5600 U/L (30-200 U/L)], HTP [TG 783 mg/dL (<149 mg/dL), lipase 461 U/l (7-60 U/L)], glucose 269 mg/dL (not in DKA), transaminitis [AST 184 U/L (4-40 U/L), ALT 61 U/L (4-41 U/L)] and renal failure (GFR 10 ml/min/1.73m2). IV insulin infusion was initiated for hyperglycemia worsened by COVID-19 dexamethasone treatment. Plasmapheresis was performed twice with minimal effect at maintaining a low TG. Fenofibrate was not initiated due to renal failure;Lovaza could not be given via oral gastric tube;Atorvastatin was attempted once rhabdomyolysis resolved, with subsequent worsening of liver function tests. Heparin infusion was initiated for deep vein thrombosis treatment and HTP but was stopped after development of heparin induced thrombocytopenia. The patient developed worsening hypoglycemia requiring cessation of IV insulin, hypotension requiring maximum pressor support, and worsening sepsis leading to his death. Discussion(s): This case illustrates the challenges of managing a patient with HTP and COVID-19. It demonstrates how a normally straightforward treatment algorithm can become increasingly complex when factoring the patient's comorbid conditions. The case highlights the importance of knowing both treatment indications and contraindications for HTP. In this case, HTP may have been the initial diagnosis, straightforward for most endocrinologists, but its treatments and comorbid conditions ultimately made the landscape more challenging, limiting effective management and ultimately leading to this patient's demise.Copyright © 2023

Obesity and COVID-19: insights from two pandemics.

This review article discusses the pathophysiological mechanisms of the development of coronavirus infection in obese patients. It has been shown that obesity is considered as the most important risk factor for the development of many comorbid diseases, including severe forms and deaths as a result of a new coronavirus infection. The higher incidence and severity of a new coronavirus infection in obese patients is based on a complex of factors, the main of which are an increase in cardiovascular risk, including a tendency to thrombosis, a decrease in the efficiency of the respiratory system, impaired immune response, and the presence of chronic inflammatory state. The article discusses non-drug approaches and issues of pharmacological therapy in patients with obesity in the context of a pandemic of a new coronavirus infection. It is shown that the implementation of national quarantine measures has led to an increase in physical inactivity, the level of stress and a change in the eating behavior of the population, closing a vicious circle and contributing to an increase in body weight. For this reason, the efforts of physicians of therapeutic specialties should be directed primarily to increasing resistance to infection among obese patients and combating physical inactivity. The main groups of drugs that can be used to combat lipotoxicity are listed. It was noted that infectious disease doctors and endocrinologists can use those groups of drugs that affect the most vulnerable pathogenetic triggers for the development of obesity and comorbidities: hunger and satiety processes, decreased insulin sensitivity, development of lipotoxicity and chronic inflammation. It has been proven that the range of positive effects of new antihyperglycemic drugs from the groups of type 1 glucagon-like peptide agonists and type 2 sodium-glucose transporter inhibitors, combined with a well-studied efficacy and safety profile, represents a new opportunity for the treatment of obesity in the context of a coronavirus infection pandemic.Copyright © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

An outpatient service evaluation in a UK tertiary referral centre for paediatric and adolescent gynaecology

Background: Pressure on waiting lists prompted this service evaluation in a tertiary referral centre for paediatric and adolescent gynaecology (PAG). The service is located in Bristol in England. The centre is one of 11 commissioned by NHS England to provide care for patients with congenital gynaecological anomalies, as well as seeing patients with other PAG presentations from aged 2 upwards. Alongside general PAG clinics, there is a quarterly multi-disciplinary transition clinic for children with differences in sex development and a monthly joint adult endocrinology / gynaecology clinic where patients with Turner Syndrome are seen annually. Aim(s): To collect and analyse data pertaining to the pre-Covid PAG outpatient service, to inform1 anticipated service developments aimed at reducing waiting list times for new patients and streamlining of services for certain patient groups Methods: This service evaluation was registered with the local clinical audit team (GYNAE/SE/2020-21-11). We performed a retrospective review of the electronic notes of every PAG appointment from 1st March 2019 - 29th February 2020 (pre-Covid-19 UK restrictions). A database of PAG clinics was created and then the team manually went through each appointment's notes / letters and extracted the relevant data which was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Result(s): There were 385 appointments during this time period. There was data available for 376 appointments and 338 of these were filled by PAG patients. 72 appointments were (21%) for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) of late effects of childhood cancer, 53 (16%) were for patients with Turner syndrome and 48 (14%) for heavy menstrual bleeding, of which 23 (48%) were new referrals, with this being the most common reason for referral to the team. The remaining appointments were for a variety of conditions. Conclusions and Actions: Our services would benefit from streamlining to maximise capacity and reduce waiting times. To this end: - A second endocrinologist has been recruited to double capacity for the Turner Syndrome clinic2. - An adolescent heavy menstrual bleeding clinic3,4 has been set up to streamline care for these patients. This is a one-stop face-to-face clinic offering a transabdominal pelvic ultrasound scan and a telephone follow-up 3 or 6 months later - To consider a POI / late effects of childhood cancer service to run alongside the menopause and reproductive medicine clinics with psychology support5 PAG constitutes a wide range of diagnoses, and a regular assessment is helpful to ensure care can be offered as efficiently as possible.Copyright © 2023

Reducing the Length of Stay and Mortality in COVID-19 Patients with Diabetes

Background: COVID-19 pneumonia is newly recognized illness has spread rapidly around the world. It causes much morbidity and mortality. Diabetes in COVID-19 patients is individual risk factor and documented in worldwide studies to contribute to severity of the disease, increased length of stay and higher mortality. Aggressive management of blood sugars and acute diabetic complications reduce the length of stay and mortality. Method(s): The improvement project carried over for four months in King Fahd Armed Forces hospital. Randomly selected 200 patients admitted to the hospital with diabetes and COVID-19 studied. The unified treatment protocol applied for all patients and blood sugars monitored closely and optimized. Data collected on bimonthly basis and analyzed. The patient characteristics taken from data extraction tool (Oasis) of hospital. Median values for length of stay and post discharge FBS and RBS were calculated Microsoft Excel tool. Mortality rates calculated by percentages. Result(s): 200 patients studied in the 4 months study period. The median length of stay was 3 days. The mortality rate was 2.5%. The median FBS and RBS in the patient group monitored in the post discharge clinic was 130 mg/dl and 170 mg/dl respectively. The results compared with the standard international studies and improvements in primary and secondary outcomes documented. Discussion(s): The length of stay in the study population in the project was 3 days as compared to 13 days in a major international study helping rapid turnover of beds and financial savings. The mortality was 2.5% compared to 7.3% in a major published study, reflecting the implications of aggressive management of diabetes by teamwork. The median values of FBS 130 mg/dl and RBS of 170mg/dl achieved by regular follow-up and support to the patient by running postdischarged clinic definitely help reducing readmissions and acute complications of uncontrolled diabetes. Conclusion(s): COVID-19 patients with diabetes are more prone to have more severe disease, and tend to stay longer in hospital and have higher mortality compared to non-diabetics. An aggressive preemptive strategy with unified treatment protocols and readily available service of endocrinologist and effective control of diabetes and acute complications of diabetes significantly reduces the length of and mortality in COVID-19 patients with diabetes.

Piloting a new compensation model for endocrinologists to improve diabetes care

There is a consensus that fee-for-service reimbursement does too little to encourage the provision of high-value care. Our Enterprise, an integrated payer-provider based in Pittsburgh, created an alternative compensation model for endocrinologists. Our plan introduces a gradual shift in the role of endocrinologists from clinical duties to a more collaborative role with their primary care colleagues. Considering that most patients with diabetes are managed under primary care, this shift allows endocrinologists to support primary care physicians (PCPs) in managing patients with diabetes and other endocrine-related illnesses while decreasing the number of traditional in-office referrals to endocrinology. Despite the unexpected changes brought on by COVID, in first 9 months of the compensation model, we observed its impact on care delivery as well as the relationship between participating specialists and PCPs. Practice- and provider-level quality data has shown improvement in diabetes-specific quality metrics. In one year, 16 out of 54 target practices earned NCQA recognition for diabetes management. A total of 88% of participating PCPs reported a satisfaction score > 90% with the new plan. Ultimately, our model shows promise as a replacement for fee-for-service compensation, with a likelihood of lowering costs and improved quality of care.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)

Survey to Investigate Adherence to Growth Hormone Treatment in Children: The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Treatment adherence is crucial for the success of Growth Hormone (GH) therapy. Non-adherence rates have varied over a wide range from 5% to 80% in the literature. Several factors may have an impact on treatment adherence. Besides, with the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the whole world, there were problems with the hospital admission and routine controls of the patients who used GH treatment. Objective(s): The survey's primary objective is to investigate adherence to treatment in patients with GH. The survey will also investigate potential problems in GH treatment during the pandemic. Material(s) and Method(s): The survey was sent to pediatric endocrinologists. Patient data, diagnosis, history of pituitary surgery, current GH doses, duration of GH therapy, who administers the therapy (mother and father, patient), duration of missed doses, reasons for missed doses as well as problems associated with GH therapy, and missed dose data in the recent year (after the onset of the pandemic) and causes were asked. The treatment adherence category was determined based on missed dose rates over the past month (0 to 5%, full adherence;5.1 to 10% moderate adherence;>10% non-adherence). Result(s): 427 cases from thirteen centers were evaluated. The median age of diagnosis of the cases (56.2% male) was 8.5 (0.13-16) years. GH treatment indications were isolated GH deficiency (61.4%), multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (14%), Turner syndrome (7.5%), idiopathic GH deficiency (7.5%), and SGA (2.8%), and other (6.8%). GH therapy was administered by 70% parents and 30% patients. Mean daily dose was 32.3 mcg/kg, the annual growth rate was 7.52+/-2.7 cm. GH adherence rate was good (70.3%), moderate (14.7%), and poor (15%), respectively. The reasons for non-adherence were mainly due to forgetting, being tired, inability to access medication, and pen problems. It was noteworthy that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on adherence in 22%. The problem with an appointment, taking the medication, and anxiety about going to the hospital were the main reasons. There was no difference between genders in the adherence rate. Non-adherence to GH treatment decreased statistically when the patient administered the treatment, increased age, the duration of the treatment, and COVID-19 pandemia. A non-statistical decrease was found in the annual growth rate as the skip rate increased. Conclusion(s): During the COVID-19 pandemic, poor adherence was found to be 15%, and the duration of hormone use and advanced age are important factors. The pandemic period negatively affected compliance.

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and GH treatment: new strategies to abate the distance

SARS-CoV- 2 pandemic induced to develop new strategies to abate the distance between patients, families and paediatricians, especially in cases of patients who need long-term therapies. Furthermore, the need to minimize the inflow of children and adolescents affected by chronic diseases into the hospitals induced paediatric endocrinologists to limit visits and to consider a new setting to assist children in treatment with growth hormone (GH). Telemedicine and smart-working could contribute to maintain a good standard of care in the follow-up of children with GH deficiency, still in treatment with GH. Patients were assisted by telephonic consultations guaranteed by the paediatricians of free choice and by the paediatric specialists. However, patients frequently needed a direct specialistic evaluation in the case of flares, abnormal laboratory parameters and adverse reactions to drugs. We enrolled 85 children (50 M;35 F);Medium age: 12.4 (4-16) years, with GH deficiency, in treatment with GH. A questionnaire were proposed to their parents, with questions about the assistance and problems linked to the disease. The questionnaire highlighted many points: - the central role of the follow-up by the paediatricians of free choice;- the useful digital support strategies (pc, smart phone app, tele consult, etc);- the worsening of dietary intake and increased caloric intake, associated with a decreased regular physical activity. These life style increased BMI in most patients. - the important role of the paediatric endocrinologist consults in important decisions as vaccinations. The new scenario induced paediatric endocrinologists to create new strategies to support patients with special needs, as GHD children and adolescents. However, these strategies can be maintained even beyond the end of the pandemic, as a good assistance practice.

Trends in Industry Payments to Diabetologists and Endocrinologists in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction Limited evidence suggests there were substantial amounts of payments from the healthcare industry to diabetologists and endocrinologists in the United States before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period. However, there is no study on how these industry payments changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate trends in non-research industry payments to physicians specializing in diabetology and endocrinology in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Methods Using the open payments database between 2013 and 2021, we examined trends in general payments made to physicians whose primary specialty was diabetology and endocrinology by the healthcare industry in the United States. Trends in industry payments during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated by interrupted time series analysis with generalized estimating equation models. Results Of 7965 active endocrinologists and diabetologists, 6991 (87.8%) received one or more general payments from the healthcare industry in the United States between August 2013 and December 2021. Median per-physician payments were $116.68 (interquartile range (IQR): $41.66-$390.00) before the COVID-19 pandemic period and $97.91 (IQR: $32.81-$314.04) during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Monthly per-physician payments, the number of per-physician payments, and the number of physicians receiving payments decreased by 61.0% (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 58.1%-63.7%, p<0.001), 59.2% (95% CI: 57.9%-60.4%, p<0.001), and 39.7% (95% CI: 38.3%-41.0%, p<0.001) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020), compared to those before pandemic period, respectively.  Conclusion The non-research payments to endocrinologists and diabetologists from the healthcare industry sharply decreased by about 60% in payment amounts due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

SGLT2i Prescribers Among CKD Patients: Trends in Real-World Data (RWD)

Background: Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) reduce CKD risks. RWD may provide insight into early adopters of these agents and treatment trends for CKD due to Type 2 Diabetes (T2DKD). Method(s): Adults >=30 years old with >=2 eGFR tests, 90-365 days apart, classifying patients as CKD stages 2-4 were identified in the HealthVerity PrivateSource20 closed claims linked with Veradigm Health Insights EHR and Quest laboratory results data between 1/1/2018 and 09/30/2021. The first eGFR test date was the index date, patients were followed for initiation of SGLT2i and the provider type on the prescription claim was identified. Patients with AKI and SGLT2i prescriptions during baseline were excluded. Result(s): 5.1% of CKD patients (7094/137,874) Stages 2-4 initiated SGLT2i therapy and the number of CKD patients initiating treatment increased over the study period until 2020 (Fig 1). 94% of new SGLT2i use was among T2DKD. SGLT2i initiation was highest in Stage 2 and 3 (5.8%, 4.1%) followed by Stage 4 (1.5%). As disease severity worsened, the proportion of prescriptions initiated by nephrologists increased (0.7% Stage 2 vs.19.7% Stage 4). Four specialty groups comprised 79% of prescribers overall, with General Medicine (59%) and Endocrinologists (16%) being the early prescribers, while the proportion of Nephrologists and Cardiologists was low but slightly grew by 2021 (Fig 2). Conclusion(s): RWD indicates sparse initiation of SGLT2i in CKD patients, with increasing trends until 2020 which may, in part, be COVID-19 related. General Medicine and Endocrinologists were consistently the most common prescribing providers, while Nephrologist prescriptions increased over time and as stage advanced.

IMPORTANCE OF STEROIDS: A CASE OF SPONTANEOUS BILATERAL ADRENAL HEMORRHAGE DUE TO THROMBOCYTOPENIA IN A PATIENT WITH MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROME

SESSION TITLE: Emergency Endocrine Disorders SESSION TYPE: Rapid Fire Case Reports PRESENTED ON: 10/18/2022 10:15 am - 11:10 am INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous bilateral adrenal hemorrhage (BAH) resulting in adrenal crisis is a rare, but serious condition that can easily be missed as patients may present with non-specific symptoms (weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, dizziness). It can escalate to hemodynamic instability in the setting of adrenal crisis. The most common cause is meningococcal disease, other causes include trauma, septicemia, and coagulopathies. Without treatment it is fatal and carries a high mortality rate of 15%;Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome has been reported with 55-60% mortality. Here, we describe a case of a patient with a history of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who presented with multiple readmissions with a septic shock picture with unknown source of infection and was finally diagnosed with bilateral adrenal hemorrhage causing adrenal crisis. CASE PRESENTATION: An 85-year old independently living man with past medical history of MDS and hypertension presented after a syncopal episode at home with altered mental status. Treatment was initiated for a urinary tract infection which progressed to shock. His labs were notable for leukocytosis in the 40,000s and a platelet count in the 30s. He was found to have BAH on imaging. He was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics, vasopressors and stress-dose steroids with improvement in his condition and eventually discharged home. He was readmitted to the ICU twice within a month for shock, each time with a negative infection workup, as he had been discharged home without steroids to follow up with an endocrinologist. After his third readmission, he was discharged on steroids and he did not have any further readmissions to the hospital. Exhaustive investigations were made into possible infectious causes of his BAH as well as possible vasculitis and hematologic causes. It was determined to likely be in the setting of thrombocytopenia brought on by his MDS. DISCUSSION: Thrombocytopenia is a rare cause of BAH and adrenal crisis. Review of literature mostly describes cases of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, a few cases of COVID19 and vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia after the COVID vaccine. In our patient, it was thought that MDS predisposed him to spontaneous BAH and subsequently adrenal crisis, which has only been described once before in the literature. Stress dose steroids are commonly used in the ICU for relative adrenal insufficiency. Due to the acuity of his condition and concern for relative adrenal insufficiency, our patient was tapered off steroids and discharged home with endocrinology follow up which led to his frequent readmissions as his underlying problem was not addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal insufficiency is rare and may be difficult to diagnose especially in the acute setting. It is important to recognize and treat adrenal crisis as it has a high mortality rate. MDS is a rare cause. Reference #1: Manganaro L, Al Ansari N, Barchetti F, et al. Bilateral Adrenal Hemorrhage in a Patient with Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Value of MRI in the Differential Diagnosis. Case Reports in Radiology. 2013;2013:e479836. doi:10.1155/2013/479836 Reference #2: Rosenberger LH, Smith PW, Sawyer RG, Hanks JB, Adams RB, Hedrick TL. Bilateral adrenal hemorrhage: the unrecognized cause of hemodynamic collapse associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Crit Care Med. 2011;39(4):833-838. doi:10.1097/CCM.0b013e318206d0eb Reference #3: Fatima Z, Tariq U, Khan A, et al. A Rare Case of Bilateral Adrenal Hemorrhage. Cureus. 2018;10(6):e2830. Published 2018 Jun 18. doi:10.7759/cureus.2830 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Robbert Crusio No relevant relationships by Justyna Michalik No relevant relationships by Aditya Saholi

Robotic Telepresence Consults in Underserved Community-Based Vision Threatening Disease Screenings During COVID-19

Purpose : Vision Threatening Diseases (VTDs) (age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma) affect 36 million individuals in the United States. 50% are unaware they have a VTD, disproportionally affecting minorities and lowincome groups with less access to eye care. While screening programs in underserved communities result in early detection, less than half of subjects with findings follow up with a specialist. This number is four times lower during COVID-19. Methods : Robotic Telepresence (RT) was implemented in this pilot study during COVID19 to increase real-time access to specialist care. 58 subjects (age 56, 45% male) underwent a non-mydriatic screening protocol over five screenings. They were divided into three groups for consult: In Person (IP) followed by RT (N = 21), RT followed by IP (N = 19), and IP only (N = 18). IP consult was done by an on-site certified reader. RT consult was done by an off-site glaucoma or retina specialist with access to blood pressure, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, 45° retinal images, and ocular coherence tomography Bscans via cloud-based software. Video connection for RT was established via HIPAAcompliant mobile hotspot. Subject demographics and preferences were collected afterwards via survey. Results : Of 40 RT consults, 26 were second opinion for VTD suspect and 14 were wellness encounters. 24 reported their last eye care visit >3 years ago or never. Following RT consult, 18 subjects received one or multiple VTD diagnosis and 3 with glaucoma were referred for pressure-lowering eye drops. In the group with IP consult first, preferences were 5% RT, 52% IP, and 43% none. In the group with RT consult first, preferences were 5% RT, 58% IP, and 37% none. There was no significant difference in number of questions asked, wait time, or encounter length between IP and RT consults. Conclusions : RT consults proved valuable in community-based VTD screenings, particularly during COVID-19 when access to eye care is further limited. Most subjects preferred IP. However subjects with VTD that face socioeconomic barriers benefit from immediate RT consult and management directives from remote subspecialists. Further studies should incorporate consults from additional specialties (endocrinologists, general practitioners, social workers) and include telehealth CPT code for reimbursement.

Improving outcome in pregnancy after MI: A case study

Introduction: Coronary artery disease complicates 0.01% of pregnancies. In this case study, we illustrate the successful management strategy of a pregnancy with a cardiometabolic disorder who conceived after a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Case Description: A 41-year-old woman in her third pregnancy was referred to our maternal-fetal-medicine unit at 8 weeks of gestation. She had a history of an acute inferior myocardial infarction (MI) Killip 1 with 70% occlusion of the left anterior descending artery and ectatic vessels, which was successfully thrombolysed 1 year prior. On presentation, she had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, chronic hypertension on treatment, and was morbidly obese with a BMI of 44 kg/m2. She had 2 previous lower segment caesarean sections and an umbilical hernia repair. A systematic effort involving a multidisciplinary team, both at tertiary and community level, was coordinated from the start, which successfully prevented any cardiac events during pregnancy. She recovered from Covid-19 category 4a at 28 weeks with no cardio-respiratory implications. She went on to have a lower segment caesarean section near term with tubal ligation. Post-operative recovery was uneventful, and she continued to see cardiologists and endocrinologists. Discussion: Specific risks such as MI recurrence, pre-eclampsia and low birth weight baby can be minimised through comprehensive antenatal and perinatal plans supported by patient compliance. Our case showed that pregnancy after MI results in good maternal-fetal outcome provided the pre-pregnancy cardiac performance status is good, early multidisciplinary management, patient-centred approach, close antenatal monitoring, adequate delivery preparation and patient compliance.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON DIABETES HEALTH PROFESSIONALS - THE AUSTRALIAN STORY

Background and Aims: Australia implemented some of the toughest and longest COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide, causing significant disruption to diabetes care and delivery. Tertiary outpatient services stopped face-to-face appointments and many diabetes health professionals were seconded to COVID-specific tasks and/or adjusting to government/institutional restrictions. The aim of this study was to understand the impact on diabetes services and health professionals as a result of COVID-19. Methods: A 10-question survey was distributed to Australian Diabetes Society (ADS) and National Association of Diabetes Centres (NADC) membership, at the beginning of April 2020 for 4 weeks and followed up in August 2020. Results: of 243 respondents, 40.9% were endocrinologists and 33.1% diabetes educators who predominantly worked in tertiary services (33.3%) or private practice (25.9%) and 67.4% located in metro and 21.1% in regional areas. 50.1% respondents reported increased workload, with the majority of this being diabetes-related (80.7%). The biggest challenge was telehealth set-up (63.0%) and reimbursement (37.9%) and fear of being infected/infecting family members (49.3%). Conclusions: Australia tertiary diabetes centres and private practices found it challenging to establish and be appropriately reimbursed for remote delivery of services under existing funding models. Healthcare providers described a real fear of being infected/infecting family members. In response, ADS and NADC advocated and successfully received reimbursement for telehealth services, developed a Telehealth and Diabetes Position Statement and online resource tools for patient education. Further support included webinars on establishing and best practice in telehealth services provision and a focus on mental health and COVID-19 to support Australian diabetes health professionals during the pandemic.

Experiences of delivering virtual education workshops for children with type 1 diabetes during the Covid-19 pandemic

Background: Diabetes education is an essential element to achieve treatment objectives in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) and it often involves group educations. Due to government group gathering restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, face-to-face group education were not possible. An alternative means of delivering group education is needed in this special time. With that, a series of virtual education workshops were designed. Aim: The study aimed to review the experience in conducting virtual education workshops for children and families with T1D during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: The virtual workshops consisted of warm-up and ice-breaking games led by play therapists, followed by diabetes-related education workshops conducted by diabetes nurses, paediatric endocrinologists, and dietitians. Patients and families were invited to fill in a standard feedback questionnaire afterwards. Results: In the period of July 2020 to June 2021, a total of 10 virtual workshops were organised. A total of 33 children (13 boys and 20 girls) attended the workshops. The mean age of these patients was 9.5 +/- 3.8 years and the duration of T1D was 4.0 +/-3.3 years. Their mean HbA1c were 8.2 +/- 1.5%. A total of 22 responses on the feedback questionnaires were received. Among those who responded, 68% respondents had attended the virtual workshops for more than 2 times. The majority (86%) agreed that they had acquired new diabetes related knowledge from the workshops and 86% found the workshops interesting and enjoyable. Most (95%) reported that they could listen to instruction clearly and communicate causally in the virtual workshops. Only 32% strongly agreed that virtual workshops were the same as face-to-face workshops and 27% reported that they would prefer zoom to face-to-face workshop in the future. The commonest reasons for not joining virtual workshop in the future included unstable internet connection and feeling uneasy in virtual environment. Discussion: A safe, socially distanced method of delivering group education for children and families with T1D during the pandemic was possible and well-received. Virtual education workshops could be an alternative tool in delivering diabetes education. However, this could not totally replace face-to-face therapy.

Virtually Sugar Free: Overcoming Challenges of Managing Gestational Diabetes (GDM) during a Pandemic

Background: Since the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, many areas of medicine have had to transition to virtual health care delivery in order to reduce viral transmission. This includes the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgical Centre Diabetes and Pregnancy clinic (JP DAP clinic) in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada which [JT1] provides multidisciplinary care for pregnant women with GDM. Our clinic, on average, has 720 clinician-patient encounters each month. Aim: With the joint efforts between Maternal-fetal medicine, Pediatrics and Endocrinology, we are conducting a quality improvement project to assess the impact that the transition to virtual care has had on the efficiency of the JP DAP clinic and maternal-fetal outcomes of our GDM patients. We are comparing and serially monitoring outcomes before and after transition to virtual care from March 2020 to March 2021. The aim of this project will be to measure, and potentially mitigate any harmful effects that transition to virtual care due to the COVID-19 pandemic could have on pregnant women with gestational diabetes. Method: The primary outcome measure is the time from referral to the first Endocrinologist appointment. Process measures include number of insulin starts and no-show rates. Balancing measures are the percentage of births with any one of the following maternal-fetal outcomes: large for gestational age, NICU admission, Caesarean section, neonatal hypoglycemia and/or jaundice. Results: Results of PDSA cycles have shown that several new implementations have resulted in the reduction in time from referral to the first appointment, including the introduction of virtual appointments, design of on-line education videos, and creation of time slots for appointments. The mean time of referral was reduced from 15 days to 12 days, and was sustained with these changes. However, we did observe a rise in maternal-fetal events during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in September 2020 in British Columbia, Canada, and further data collection to investigate this trend is on-going. Discussion: Despite having to change the model of how healthcare was delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, our existing data so far supports a hybrid model that utilizes both virtual and in-person consultations. This data will be useful for similar clinics by outlining some benefits and challenges we observed by integrating virtual care into the operation of our local DAP clinic. We also anticipate that our data will be useful in determining the role of virtual care in our clinic model after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Endocrine Management of Transgender Adults: A Clinical Approach

The attention to transgender medicine has changed over the last decade and the interest is most likely going to increase in the future due to the fact that gender-affirming treatments are now being requested by an increasing number of transgender people. Even if gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is based on a multidisciplinary approach, this review is going to focus on the procedures adopted by the endocrinologist in an out-clinic setting once an adult patient is referred by another specialist for ‘gender affirming’ therapy. Before commencing this latter treatment, several background information on unmet needs regarding medical and surgical outcomes should be investigated. We summarized our endocrinological clinical and therapeutic approaches to adult transgender individuals before and during GAHT based on a non-systematic review. Moreover, the possible relationships between GAHT, gender-related pharmacology, and COVID-19 are also reported.

Modena experience of first year of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Care pathways of utero and cervix cancer

Background: Gynecological cancers of the uterus and cervix are common malignancies in women. The correct management of these tumors involves many figures. Material and methods: Therefore, to respond to these multidisciplinary needs in June 2019 in Azienda Ospedialiero-Universitaria of Modena was born a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Care Pathways (DTCP) with gynaecologists, radiotherapists, medical oncologists, radiologists, nuclear medical doctors, pathologists, anaesthesiologists, a nurse Case Manager and a patients' association representative. A molecular biologist, endocrinologists and nutritionists have already enriched the team after the first year of activity. The group performs weekly collegial discussions of clinical cases and cohort visits, continued in the COVID era. Results: The new diagnoses in the first year of activity were 53 endometrial cancers (EC) and 24 cervical ones (CC). The median age at diagnosis was 51 years between EC patients and 70 years in CC. 87% of EC were endometrioid subtypes, while 65% CC were squamous cell ones. 70% EC patients (pts) were stage (st) I (52% IA and 48% IB), 5,5% st II, 9,4% st III and 11,3% st IV. Immunohistochemical analysis for estrogen and progesterone receptor, p53 and mismatch repair (MMR) proteins were performed on 20 EC. All tumours tested are p53 negative. We found 3 pts who had MMR deficiency, none of them diagnosed with Lynch syndrome at the subsequent genetic counselling. After surgery, 66% pts in st I underwent observation and 34% made radiotherapy (RT). Among st II pts, 1 patient performed RT, one other platinum- based chemotherapy (pCT) and the third did not perform any adjuvant treatment for ECOG. All except one st III pts (67%) underwent pCT with RT. Among st IV one received surgery, pCT and palliative RT, the others (83%) made pCT. Most CC were diagnosed in early st. 9 pts underwent upfront surgery, followed in 2 cases with RT and in 3 with RT and pCT. One patient received neoadjuvant chemo-RT. Radical RT with weekly cisplatin was performed in 9 pts, other 4 pts made RT alone due to advanced age and/or ECOG. One patient started observation for age, ECOG and absence of symptoms. Conclusions: In our experience, DTCP allows the optimization of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in EC and CC pts, especially in most complex cases.