Technical advances and focusing on subsets modified endocrine surgery in the last ten years tremendously. There is on one side a clear trend towards minimal invasive approaches, first of all in the surgery of the adrenal glands, where the transperitoneal ...

Thyroid nodules are a very frequent finding in particular within the feminine population. Their prevalence increases with age and the vast majority (> 95 %) are benign and without dangerous consequences. A true cancer of the thyroid is rare. Following the ...

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DCT) is a rare carcinoma (incidence 8 - 12/100 000) with an excellent prognosis (five year survival of papillary thyroid carcinoma 95 %). The presenting symptom of DCT is most frequently an indolent thyroid nodule, often ...

Hyperthyreosis, diabetes and calcium disorders are frequent endocrine diseases that are often encountered by the primary care physician. The diagnosis of hyperthyreosis can be established by many different laboratory and analytical tests. However, the ...

The antithyroid drugs mainly include thioimidazole (carbimazole, methimazole = thiamazole) and propylthiouracil. After absorption, carbimazole is rapidly metabolized to methimazole and thus switching between these two drugs should not be considered in ...

Amiodarone is a widely used antiarrythmic drug and can lead either to hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism due to its molecular structure which is similar to levothyroxin. Amiodarone induced hypothyroidism can be treated easely with hormonal subsitution. ...

Hypothyroidism is one of the most frequent endocrine disorders affecting 4.6 % of the adult population. 90 % of the cases represent subclinical hypothyroidism, defined by increased serum TSH but normal free thyroxine (fT4) values. General screening for ...

Primary hyperparathyroidism is frequently an incidental finding in asymptomatic patients. Often the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism is made in evaluation for osteoporosis, rarely in the context of hypercalcemic crisis, myopathy, kidney stones, ...

Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder in clinical practice and is associated with increased mortality in hospitalized patients. Sodium is the predominant extracellular cation and, together with its anion chloride, constitutes most of the ...

Adaequate stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (cortisol-axis) is essential for the adaptation of the human organism to stress and the preservation of homeostasis. Clinical and laboratory changes in adrenal insufficiency are often non-...

Oral contraceptives (OC) are either composed of a combination of an estrogen derivative (usually ethinly estradiol) and a progestogen, or they contain a progestogen only. OC are characterized by a high effectiveness and have a low failure rate if taken ...