SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the awareness and perspectives of acromegaly patients in the diagnosis and treatment processes and to evaluate basic clinical and demographic features. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Endocrinology Department of Yildirim Beyazit University between March 2019 and April 2020. A total of 58 acromegalic patients were enrolled. All patients were identified from our database and called for a clinical visit and filling the questionnaire forms. RESULTS: A total of 58 patients were included in this study (41.4% female). The mean age of the patients was 52±10.8 years. Median year from symptom to diagnosis (min-max) was 2 (1–12). Notably, 55.2% of the patients did not graduate from high school. Of the 58 patients, 30 (51.7%) patients had knowledge about the etiology of their disease. While 12 (20.7%) patients identified their initial symptoms themselves, 75% of the patients reported their symptoms during the clinical history taken by a health care professional. The majority of patients were diagnosed by an endocrinologist (69%). Acromegaly did not affect social life but affected work life and caused early retirement. Transsphenoidal surgery was performed as primary treatment in 96.6% of the patients (n=56). In all, 46 (79.3%) patients received medical treatment with somatostatin receptor ligands (e.g., octreotide or lanreotide long-acting release [LAR]) with or without cabergoline. Overall disease control was achieved in 38 (65.5%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Acromegaly is usually detected incidentally by clinicians. The diagnosis of acromegaly is delayed in most patients and disease-related complications have already developed at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, increasing the awareness of the society and health care professionals will reduce both disease-related comorbidities and the economic burden on the health system.

ABSTRACT Objective Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is a common endocrine disease, and its most effective treatment is surgery. Postoperative hypocalcemia is a morbidity of parathyroid surgeries, and it may extend hospitalization durations. The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive factors related to the development of hypocalcemia and hungry bone syndrome (HBS) in patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for PHP. Materials and methods Laboratory data comprising parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphate, 25-OHD, albumin, magnesium, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) of the patients were recorded preoperatively, on the 1st and 4th days postoperatively, and in the 6th postoperative month, and their neck ultrasound (US) and bone densitometry data were also recorded. Results Hypocalcemia was seen in 63 patients (38.4%) on the 1st day after parathyroidectomy. Ten patients (6.1%) had permanent hypocalcemia in the 6th month after surgery. Out of the patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for PHP, 22 (13.4%) had HBS. The incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia was higher in patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for PHP, who had parathyroid hyperplasia, and who had osteoporosis. Preoperative PTH, ALP, and BUN values were higher in those patients who developed HBS. Furthermore, HBS was more common in patients who had osteoporosis, who had parathyroid hyperplasia, and who underwent thyroidectomy simultaneously with parathyroidectomy. Conclusions As a result, patients who have the risk factors for development of hypocalcemia and HBS should be monitored more attentively during the perioperative period.