ABSTRACT
Betamethasone (BM) administration in pregnancy has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Its known diabetogenic impact, combined with placental insulin resistance, leads to a transient increase in glycemia. However, its effect on glucose homeostasis in pregnancy has not been adequately investigated. We closely monitored and assessed the glycemic profile of 83 pregnant women, with normal glucose metabolism, who were given BM during their hospitalization due to threatened premature labor. A significant change in the glycemic profile in most patients was noted, lasting 1.34 ± 1.05 days. Sixty-six of eighty-three women were eventually treated with insulin to maintain glycemia within acceptable limits. The mean ± SD insulin dosage was 12.25 ± 11.28 units/day. The need for insulin therapy was associated with higher BM doses and the presence of marginal values in the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 60 min. Our study demonstrates, following BM administration, the need for increased awareness and individualized monitoring/treatment of pregnant women with normal-yet marginal-values in the 75-g OGTT.
ABSTRACT
The effective management of Graves' disease (GD) during pregnancy is crucial for maternal and neonatal well-being. Conventional treatment of GD during pregnancy includes antithyroid drugs (ATDs) and surgery, ideally during the second trimester. We report a 27-year-old woman with GD and we present the course of GD during her three consecutive pregnancies. During the first pregnancy, thyrotoxicosis was successfully treated with low doses of antithyroid drugs; in the second pregnancy, thyrotoxicosis was only controlled at the third trimester; while in the third pregnancy, our patient presented with treatment-resistant thyrotoxicosis, which was finally managed with corticosteroids in adjunction with ATDs. Although hyperthyroid, the patient maintained her fertility. Resistance to ATD is a rare condition and in our case was adequately controlled with corticosteroids.
ABSTRACT
Hypercalcemia of malignancy is the most common cause of hypercalcemia in hospitalized patients. It is associated with a poor prognosis, since it reflects an advanced cancer stage. Among all cancer in females, breast cancer is the most common malignancy, and it has the highest prevalence of hypercalcemia. Approximately 70% of patients with breast cancer have bone metastases and 10% of them will have hypercalcemia as a complication at some point in the disease. Herein, we report a 69-year-old female patient with metastatic breast cancer, who developed severe hypercalcemia in the course of her disease and was diagnosed with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM). Intense hydration along with corticoisteroids and antiresorptive medication (calcitonin, bisphosphonates and denosumab) were administered to the patient. Despite the above treatment, serum calcium levels remain elevated and calcimimetic cinacalcet was added. Upon discontinuation of cinacalcet, calcium levels were raised and returned back to the normal levels following re-initiation of the calcimimetic. Her calcium level restored to normal, and she was discharged with the following medical treatment: denosumab monthly, and cinacalcet at a titrated dose of 90 mg per day. The patient is followed as an outpatient and 11 months later, her calcium level remained within the normal range. LEARNING POINTS: Hypercalcemia of malignancy is the most common cause of hypercalcemia in hospitalized patients.Breast cancer has the highest prevalence of hypercalcemia.The cornerstone of therapy remains the intense hydration and intravenous bisphosphonates (preferably zoledronic acid).In case of persistent hypercalcemia of malignancy, the administration of calcimimetic cinacalcet could be an additional effective therapeutic option.
