ESPE Abstracts

Background: ROHHAD syndrome (rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, central hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation) – also defined as ROHHADNET when associated with neural tumors - is a rare condition with a high mortality rate. The aim of this study is to describe the phenotypes of a multicentric cohort of ROHHAD patients.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 22 patient...

Objectives: In laboratory medicine, external quality assessment (EQA) schemes have become versatile tools for the detection of analytical flaws. However, for pediatric sex steroid levels EQA schemes are lacking. We aimed to investigate the suitability of different estradiol and testosterone immunoassays in a pediatric setting, in comparison with clinical liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays.Methods:</s...

Thyroid nodular disease, either multinodular goitre (MNG) or solitary nodule, carries a higher malignancy risk in paediatric patients compared to adults requiring closer monitoring and investigation. We present a case series of patients with multinodular goitre who were confirmed to have tumour predisposition syndromes. Eight patients (six female) with MNG were identified using electronic medical records, based on presence of MNG and/or previous genetic testing confirming eith...

Background: It was reported recently that central adrenal insufficiency (CAI) in pediatric patients (pts) with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), presented in up to 60% of them, could be a potential cause of sudden death. Moreover it has been suggested that CAI could be aggravated by rhGH recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment.Objective: To prevent both over- and undertreatment with hydrocortisone, we assessed the p...

Introduction: Craniopharyngioma (CP) is a histologically benign rare tumor from the sellar and parasellar region. Its invasion into adjacent structures, namely optic nerve and hypothalamic-pituitary axis brings significant morbidity and warrants surgical treatment. Hypothalamic Syndrome (HS) can occur in different conditions affecting this structure, comprising a cluster of symptoms like pituitary dysfunction, obesity, temperature dysregulation, sleep disturba...

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern, affecting over 100 million children worldwide, with an overall prevalence of 13%. A previous Omani study in 2012 suggested the prevalence of childhood obesity in Oman was 12.5%.Objectives: This study aims to identify the prevalence of childhood obesity among children under the age of 13 yrs, who visited various pediatric outpatient clinics at Sultan ...

Background: The internet provides a multitude of health information. Understanding disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) can be difficult for families partly due to their complexity and relatively low prevalence. Consequently, families may use the internet to gain understanding of their child's condition, however the quality of this information has not been formally assessed.Aims: To assess the quality, vali...

Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a rare, potentially life-threatening, condition due to abnormalities of steroid biosynthesis or of adrenal gland development and responsiveness. PAI is characterized by impaired secretion of glucocorticoids and can be accompanied by mineralocorticoid and adrenal androgens deficiency or excess, depending on the underlying cause. In adults, the most common etiology is represented by autoimmunity. In contrast, the disease in children is more...

Background and Objectives: Chronic administration of synthetic glucocorticoids affects 1% of the world population and is responsible for secondary adrenal insufficiency for 40% of the patients. In pediatrics, glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency (GI-AI) diagnosis is based on the Low Dose Synacthen Test (LD-SST). Screening for glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency implies medical and economical costs due to the necessity of an intravenous line an...

Introduction: A promoter mutation (c.167G>T) in the phosphomannomutase 2 (PMM2) gene, either homozygous or occurring in trans with a PMM2 coding mutation, causes hyperinsulinism (HI) and polycystic kidney disease (PKD) – HIPKD. Organ-specific deficiency of PMM2 leads to the restricted phenotype of HIPKD, without typical clinical features of the Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation Type 1a (CDG1a), which is caused by recessive coding ...