ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Objectives. The present paper aims to review important contemporary information about VTE risk in endogenous and exogenous CS, as a substantial discrepancy exists between the results of a recent meta-analysis confirming the increased risk for VTE and the absence of CS in VTE guidelines. Methods. An extensive search of relevant databases (e.g. PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus) was performed in order to establish the interconnectedness of the following terms: Cushing’s syndrome, venous thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism. Results. The analysis demonstrated that patients with CS have about ten times the risk for VTE, particularly during the first year following the diagnosis of CS. Oral glucocorticoid users (with iatrogenic CS) have a 3-fold increase in risk of VTE in comparison with non-users. The most recent 2019 meta-analysis encompassed 7142 patients with endogenous CS (including Cushing’s disease) undergoing transsphenoidal surgery or adrenalectomy, and their risk of unprovoked VTE was almost 18 times higher in comparison with a healthy population. Conclusion. Over the past 50 years considerable evidence of increased VTE risk in CS has been accumulated. It pertains to both endogenous and exogenous type of CS and has been confirmed in the vast majority, if not all the available studies, including meta-analyses. Nevertheless, official CS guidelines make no mention of CS as a VTE risk factor, even though it is important that not only physicians who treat CS, but also physicians who manage patients with suspected VTE be aware of increased VTE risk.

Context. Stress hyperglycemia has been studied in numerous critical illnesses for several decades. Despite the extensive accumulation of knowledge about this topic, the definition of stress hyperglycemia is not updated since 2007. Subjects and Methods. We performed a narrative review about stress hyperglycemia in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), aiming to improve its current definition and to give evidence supporting this. Results. The definition of stress hyperglycemia in 2021 we recommend is: “SH is a high ABGly in an AMI patient irrespective of DM status. It can be calculated as e.g., “stress hyperglycemia ratio” or “admission glucose delta”/“glycemic gap”. This definition may serve to start a consensus document of the experts in the field. The evidence accumulates supporting the possibility to recognize stress hyperglycemia also in AMI patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) by calculating glycemia during the previous 2-3 months using glycated hemoglobin. Moreover, it is now obvious that 2007 definition of stress hyperglycemia did not take into account the necessity to separate cut-offs for the subgroups with vs. without DM. Conclusions. We demonstrated the insufficiency of the current 2007 definition of stress hyperglycemia, provided evidence-based recommendation for the improvement and suggested the need for a consensus of the experts on this topic. In order to optimize the treatment of stress hyperglycemia in numerous critical illnesses, we ought to have its universal definition (as we already have the universal definition of AMI).