Difficulties in investigating and treating fibrosing thyroid disorder (overlap of fibrosing variant of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Riedel's thyroiditis).

A gentleman in his 90s presented with a slowly enlarging goitre over 18 months, causing manifestations of superior vena cava obstruction, dysphagia and hoarseness of voice. Investigations were suggestive of a fibrosing thyroid pathology. Surgical management was avoided due to high surgical risk. Treatment included prednisolone and tamoxifen with palliative management in the event of further medical deterioration. This article illustrates the difficulties in diagnosing and managing fibrosing thyroid diseases.

Denosumab-induced severe hypocalcaemia in a patient with vitamin D deficiency.

Postmenopausal women are at increased risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporotic fractures carry an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Denosumab is a monoclonal antibody widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis by inhibiting osteoclast-induced bone resorption. Hypocalcaemia is a known side-effect of denosumab treatment. The majority of such cases have been described in patients with underlying metastatic cancer or chronic kidney disease. We present a patient who developed severe hypocalcaemia after administration of denosumab in the context of severe vitamin D deficiency and a normal kidney function. The management was further complicated by hypophosphatemia. Following replacement of vitamin D, the patient's calcium and phosphate levels stabilised. The patient required intensive care monitoring for replacement of electrolytes. This case report emphasises the importance of screening and ongoing monitoring of risk factors for iatrogenic hypocalcaemia with denosumab treatment.

Appropriateness of ultrasound imaging for thyroid pathology, the standard of radiology reporting on thyroid nodules and the detection rates of thyroid malignancy: a tertiary centre retrospective audit.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing worldwide without a simultaneous rise in mortality. It is thought that the incidence of non-clinically significant thyroid cancers are on the rise as a result of more sensitive diagnostic imaging. AIM: To determine the number of inappropriate requests for thyroid ultrasound (US), the quality of radiology reporting for thyroid nodules based on accepted guidelines and the resultant number of thyroid cancers identified because of these investigations. METHODS: Electronic medical records of patients who underwent thyroid US imaging and thereafter referred to the Endocrine Department at Gold Coast University Hospital, Queensland, between July 2014 and July 2017 were reviewed. Data for 251 patients who had thyroid US were analysed and the final 201 patients who were found to have thyroid nodules were evaluated using descriptive statistics. Indications for thyroid US imaging among referring clinicians were assessed and we compared both clinical management and radiology reporting practices of thyroid nodules to the published 2009 and 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines. RESULTS: There were 50.2% of patients with initial thyroid US imaging deemed outside of expert recommendations where 42% of these patients required further surveillance imaging and 25.4% required fine needle aspiration of their thyroid nodules. A definite recommendation whether to evaluate thyroid nodules further was provided in 44.8% of radiology reports. There were no radiology reports that described thyroid nodules findings based on patterns as recommended by the 2015 ATA guidelines. Two cases of thyroid cancer were detected including one patient with prior history of thyroid cancer and a second patient with hypothyroidism. CONCLUSION: Routine use of US thyroid imaging outside expert recommendation is common. There is lack of standardised reporting when assessing thyroid nodules on US. Limiting the initial use of US in cases of palpable neck lumps and the use of systematic reporting according to the 2017 guidelines published by the American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System may reduce unnecessary investigations for thyroid nodules in the future.

Primary adrenal lymphoma with initial presentation concerning for bilateral adrenal pheochromocytomas.

Primary adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is rarely encountered. Clinical presentation is non-specific with fatigue, abdominal pain and B-symptoms being more commonly reported. We report a case of primary bilateral adrenal lymphoma who initially presented with clinical features suspicious for pheochromocytoma. The patient was recently diagnosed with hypertension and had a family history of early ischaemic heart disease. Plasma free metanephrines were also elevated. Pheochromocytoma was deemed unlikely following multiple investigations and the diagnosis of lymphoma was made following adrenal biopsy. Partial response was noted on positron emission tomography CT scan following four cycles of chemotherapy but failed to remit after six cycles of chemotherapy. Subsequently, he received 20 fractions of radiation to his adrenal glands and is now awaiting further imaging. The presentation of primary adrenal lymphoma can be variable and given that the diagnosis is obtained through tissue sampling, pheochromocytoma should be excluded due to risk of a potentially fatal adrenergic crisis.