Endocrinology
Physician discussions on diabetes management, thyroid disorders, hormonal imbalances, and metabolic conditions.
Recent Discussions
How do you approach the choice of basal-bolus insulin vs correctional insulin alone to manage hyperglycemia in a hospitalized older adult with type 2 diabetes and significant frailty?
Frail older adults with type 2 diabetes, compared to their less-frail counterparts, may have less predictable oral intake, and you may have more difficulty obtaining an accurate medication reconciliation. You may need to review facility records or speak to multiple collateral historians to find out ...
Do you routinely prescribe vitamin D to reduce the risk of fall-related fractures in elderly patients regardless of their serum levels?
Right now, the evidence would NOT support daily vitamin D in older adults who are not deficient just for the purposes of fall prevention. Kahwati et al., PMID 33847712However, lots get missed on fall prevention - so be sure to review all risk factors and make a personalized plan (STEADI resources ar...
When do you consider changing a patient's levothyroxine dose during hospitalization due to abnormal TFTs, but without clinical evidence of thyrotoxicosis or hypothyroidism?
Thank you for your question. I think this is something we commonly get in the hospital, and we often overreact to it. This was a "Things We Do For No Reason" some time back, and I think they outline the issues well.When people are acutely ill, TSH testing is unreliable. The times when TSH testing is...
What is your treatment strategy for pregnant patients with newly discovered prolactinomas?
There are a few factors in this decision, with lots of subtle variations. Some factors to consider are: 1) how big is the tumor (microadenoma versus macroadenoma), and 2) are there any symptoms other than elevated prolactin (e.g., visual field defect)? Assuming there are no major compressive symptom...
In routine practice where repeat biopsy and outcomes data are not available, what longitudinal NIT pattern (e.g., VCTE/ELF ± MRI-PDFF/ALT trajectory) do you consider sufficient to continue semaglutide specifically for MASH, and what trajectory would trigger a “futility” decision to stop or switch despite weight loss?
Aligned with clinical practice guidance that GLP-1 RAs primarily improve steatosis and inflammation rather than established fibrosis, I look for a concordant metabolic response, including ≥30% PDFF reduction with ALT improvement of ≥17 IU/L or ≥20%, alongside at least stability or modest improvement...
Do you foresee any added benefit of triple agonist therapy (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon) for glycemic control in patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus?
This is an interesting question. Since glucagon receptor therapy has not been tested in type 1 diabetes, let me address your question based on what we know of the physiology. Isolated glucagon receptor agonism increases hepatic glucose production and causes hyperglycemia. However, glucagon receptor ...
How should we approach the recommendation of intermittent fasting for weight loss in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions, given the observed association of increased CV mortality with eating durations of less than 8 hrs?
I will admit my prejudice on this topic. I don’t understand the biologic plausibility of shortening the time during which meals are consumed to 8 consecutive hours a day with no snacking for 16 hours a day (but without calorie restriction) in order to lose weight. This would be like saying “have bru...
Do you anticipate added benefit of triple agonist therapy for patients with early type 2 diabetes mellitus and MASLD given evidence of glucagon resistance?
I anticipate triple agonist therapy will offer added benefits over dual agonist therapy in patients with diabetes and obesity. There are studies showing greater weight loss with triple agonist therapy with retatrutide (24 to 30%; Jastreboff et al., PMID 37366315, Triumph-4 trial data released by Lil...
What is the evidence, if any, for the use of low dose naltrexone in the treatment of autoimmune thyroiditis?
I do not prescribe naltrexone for thyroid disease because I have not found data to support its use. In theory, low dose naltrexone (LDN) could decrease inflammation and thus potentially block development of overt hypothyroidism in TPO positive patients. But, at this time, it is anecdotal, with no ha...
Has the recent large observational data suggesting that continuing metformin during hospitalization is associated with lower post-discharge mortality and hypoglycemia changed your approach to holding it on admission in stable, non-critically ill patients with T2DM?
I really like this paper, but I don't think it is plausible that a 5-day difference in receipt of metformin (the median length of stay was 5 days) could really affect 90-day mortality.The study question is a good one because the evidence that metformin causes lactic acidosis is extremely limited. In...