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Objectives: To assess control of blood glucose and other cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic patients monitored at an outpatient endocrinology clinic. To ascertain treatment used and its changes over time., Patients and Methods: A cohort of 424 randomly selected diabetic patients (both type 1 and type 2) was monitored from 2004 to 2008. Final cohort size was 343 patients. Data were collected about epidemiological characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, chronic complications, glycemic, lipid and blood pressure control, and treatment at baseline and 4 years., Results: After 4 years, the proportion of patients achieving glycosylated hemoglobin levels less than 7% remained stable (type 1: 18.5% in 2004 vs 21.7% in 2008, type 2: 26.6% vs 26.5%). The degree of achievement of lipid and blood pressure (BP) control levels increased in both groups. The complexity of treatment schemes used to achieve these results significantly increased., Conclusions: Stabilization of glycemic control after 4 years of follow-up was a positive result, considering the long course of diabetes, progressive pancreatic function impairment, and complexity of our cohort. Treatment optimization significantly improved BP and lipid control in the study group., (Copyright © 2011 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is the most common endocrine tumor. DTC has a good prognosis and survival rates higher than 85%. The aim of our study was to assess our current survival rate and to analyze prognostic factors., Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 308 patients with DTC (93.5% with papillary tumors, 78.8% women). Mean age at diagnosis was 45.4±15.8years, and mean follow-up time was 8.9±6.8years. The whole group was treated and followed up using the same protocol at our hospital. The following data were collected: age at diagnosis, sex, histology, TNM stage, treatments, and date and cause of death. Survival probability was calculated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. Prognostic factors were analyzed using a univariate log rank test and a multivariate Cox regression analysis model., Results: Twenty-six patients died during follow-up, 15 of them (4.9%) from DTC. Thyroid carcinoma-related survival was 92.7% for the whole group. In multivariate analyses, the following parameters were associated to a significantly increased risk of death from DTC: presence of distant metastases, follicular histology, age at diagnosis older than 60years, and extrathyroid invasion., Discussion: Our survival rate is similar to that reported in literature. Assessment of prognostic factors related to an increased risk of death in our patient group, is essential to establish active therapeutic approaches in high risk patients., (Copyright © 2010 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition are branches of Medicine that deal with the study of physiology of body glands and hormones and their disorders, intermediate metabolism of nutrients, enteral and parenteral nutrition, promotion of health by prevention of diet-related diseases, and appropriate use of the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive tools related to these disciplines. Development of Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition support services requires accurate definition and management of a number of complex resources, both human and material, as well as adequate planning of the care provided. It is therefore essential to know the services portfolio of an ideal Department of Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition because this is a useful, valid and necessary tool to optimize the available resources, to increase efficiency, and to improve the quality of care., (Copyright © 2010 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)