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Update November 22, 2020 I have not updated my patients on the COVID-19 pandemic since March. Since the last update and as of today’s date, 12.2 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19 and 256,000 Americans have died. Several of Dr. Friedman’s patients have been infected with COVID-19. Many businesses have closed and there have been major economic loses. The response to the pandemic has unfortunately been politicized and I say unfortunately because the virus doesn’t distinguish based on victim’s political party. Please see Dr. Friedman’s Letter in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal https://jewishjournal.com/letters_to_the_editor/316110/letters-lockdown-vs-no-lockdown/. Dr. Friedman completely supports efforts to limit the spread of the virus, including wearing masks, social distancing, handwashing and staying at home. Listening to government officials including the CDC is crucial. Dr. Friedman agrees with data showing gatherings are much safer outside and encourages his patients to err on the side of safety and caution. Dr. Friedman is spearheading efforts at Charles R. Drew University to be a site for a vaccine study and after some delays, it looks like his University will be a site for the Sanofi vaccine in December 2020. Dr. Friedman is very excited about the promising results from the Moderna and Pfizer trials and thinks vaccines along with mask-wearing and social distancing will curtail the pandemic, hopefully in the latter half of 2021. He does think that COVID-19 will be with us for a long time. Dr. Friedman anticipates that changes due to COVID-19, including telemedicine and working from home will remain with us after the pandemic subsides. As mentioned in the March update, patients with endocrine problems such as Cushing’s syndrome, Addison’s Disease, hypopituitarism and diabetes have slightly impaired immune systems, making them potentially susceptible for a more severe infection by COVID-19. He would recommend those patients to be especially vigilant about mask-wearing/social distancing and to get a vaccine when it comes out. He advices his patients the following: Wear masks, social distancing, handwashing and staying at home as much as possible Use delivery services for groceries, food and medications. Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds and/or use hand sanitizer several times a day Avoid air travel, public gatherings and other public places as guided by local officials Quarantine if sick or exposed. Labcorp and Quest both introduced testing for COVID-19 using nasal swabs. Several other laboratories are also performing tests. Dr. Friedman recommends PCR testing and not rapid antigen testing. For those with symptoms of Coronavirus, he recommends seeing your primary care doctor for testing. Dr. Friedman is unable to provide requisitions or swabs for this testing that should be done by their primary doctor. While Dr. Friedman was initially enthusiastic about antibody testing, he is concerned about the quality of the tests and no longer recommends it. Labcorp and Quest are both still open and Quest has a new Peace of Mind program for lab services not related to COVID-19 and for patients who are 60 years of age or older, or have other conditions that put them at greater risk for COVID-19, in which patients can come to their nearby Quest location during the first hour of each day for VIP care. Dr. Friedman encourages people to get their hormone testing done and make their followup appointments. Many patients have requested extra supply of their medications. However, most insurances do not allow this and carefully monitor medication use. Dr. Friedman recommends patients to use a mail-order pharmacy and sign up for auto-refills so that they get a consistent supply of their medications. Except for patients sick with COVID-19, patients should not up-dose hydrocortisone Dr. Friedman has restarting in person visits on the last Tuesday of each month and continues to see patients via telemedicine on the other Tuesday nights. Please visit goodhormonehealth.com for more information or to schedule an appointment. Dr. Friedman’s staff will still be doing in person growth hormone stimulation tests on Tuesday night in an isolated and sanitized clinic setting. Dr. Friedman especially encourages patients to eat healthy and exercise (especially being outside) including walking, hiking, biking, aerobic videos yoga or pilates at home, during this stressful period. Dr. Friedman encourages patients to get their flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine when available. Everyone should pray that the pandemic ends soon. Dr. Friedman wishes everyone to stay healthy
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Dexamethasone, a cheap and widely used steroid, has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among Covid-19 patients in what scientists hailed as a “major breakthrough”. Results of trials announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital. The results suggest the drug should immediately become standard care in patients with severe cases of the pandemic disease, said the researchers who led the trials. “This is a result that shows that if patients who have Covid-19 and are on ventilators or are on oxygen are given dexamethasone, it will save lives, and it will do so at a remarkably low cost,” said Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor co-leading the trial, known as the RECOVERY trial. “It’s going to be very hard for any drug really to replace this, given that for less than 50 pounds ($63.26), you can treat eight patients and save a life,” he told reporters in an online briefing. His co-lead investigator, Peter Horby, said dexamethasone was “the only drug that’s so far shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly.” “It is a major breakthrough,” he said. “Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.” There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus which has killed more than 431,000 globally. Saving ‘countless lives’ The RECOVERY trial compared outcomes of around 2,100 patients who were randomly assigned to get the steroid, with those of around 4,300 patients who did not get it. The results suggest that one death would be prevented by treatment with dexamethasone among every eight ventilated Covid-19 patients, Landray said, and one death would be prevented among every 25 Covid-19 patients that received the drug and are on oxygen. Among patients with Covid-19 who did not require respiratory support, there was no benefit from treatment with dexamethasone. “The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment, so dexamethasone should now become standard of care in these patients,” Horby said. Nick Cammack, a expert on Covid-19 at the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said the findings would “transform the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and economies across the world”. “Countless lives will be saved globally,” he said in a statement responding to the results. The RECOVERY trial was launched in April as a randomised clinical trial to test a range of potential treatments for Covid-19, including low-dose dexamethasone and the malaria drug hydoxycholoroquine. The hydroxychloroquine arm was halted earlier this month after Horby and Landray said results showed it was “useless” at treating Covid-19 patients. Global cases of infection with the novel coronavirus have reached over 8 million, according to a Reuters tally, and more than 434,000 people have died after contracting the virus, the first case if which was reported in China in early January. From https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/steroid-dexamethasone-reduces-deaths-from-severe-covid-19-trial.html-
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Webinar: Pituitary Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic
MaryO posted a calendar event in Cushie Calendar
Presented by Jamie J. Van Gompel, M.D., B.S., Professor in Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology specializing in endoscopic/open skull base focusing on Pituitary tumors as well as Epilepsy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA and Garret W. Choby, M.D., a fellowship-trained rhinologist and endoscopic skull base surgeon practicing at the Mayo Clinic. Objectives: - Understand the additional considerations that are key to performing endonasal surgery during the COVID pandemic - Identify the practice changes that are allowing pituitary surgery to proceed safely - Characterize the nasal cavity and nasopharynx as a reservoir for the coronavirus - Identify the risk of undergoing pituitary surgery during the Covid -19 pandemic Register Now! After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. Date: Monday, May 11, 2020 Time: 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time - 5:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time -
Presented by Jamie J. Van Gompel, M.D., B.S., Professor in Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology specializing in endoscopic/open skull base focusing on Pituitary tumors as well as Epilepsy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA and Garret W. Choby, M.D., a fellowship-trained rhinologist and endoscopic skull base surgeon practicing at the Mayo Clinic. Objectives: - Understand the additional considerations that are key to performing endonasal surgery during the COVID pandemic - Identify the practice changes that are allowing pituitary surgery to proceed safely - Characterize the nasal cavity and nasopharynx as a reservoir for the coronavirus - Identify the risk of undergoing pituitary surgery during the Covid -19 pandemic Register Now! After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. Date: Monday, May 11, 2020 Time: 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time - 5:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time
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Endocrinologists have underlined the importance that physicians consider "a stress dose" of glucocorticoids in the event of severe COVID-19 infection in endocrine, and other, patients on long-term steroids. People taking corticosteroids on a routine basis for a variety of underlying inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, allergies, and arthritis, are at elevated risk of being infected with, and adversely affected by, COVID-19. This also applies to a rarer group of patients with adrenal insufficiency and uncontrolled Cushing syndrome, as well as secondary adrenal insufficiency occurring in hypopituitarism, who also rely on glucocorticoids for day-to-day living. In the event of COVID-19, all of these individuals may be unable to mount a normal stress response, and "in the case of adrenal suppression...such patients may run into severe difficulties, particularly if on intensive care units," warns Paul Stewart, MD, University of Leeds, UK, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). As such, it is vitally important to recognize that "Injectable supplemental glucocorticoid therapy in this setting can reverse the risk of potentially fatal adrenal failure and should be considered in every case," Stewart and colleagues emphasize in a newly published editorial in JCEM. They note this advice must be considered alongside World Health Organization (WHO) guidance against prescribing therapeutic glucocorticoids to treat complications of COVID-19, based on prior experience in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, as well as those affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The key difference here is not to use pharmacologic doses of glucocorticoids as treatment for COVID-19 (where they have no effect), but rather to prevent death from adrenal failure by using "stress" doses of replacement glucocorticoid, Stewart explained to Medscape Medical News. "No patient with a history of prior exposure to chronic glucocorticoid therapy (> 3 months)...should die without consideration" for a stress dose of replacement glucocorticoid therapy. "The intent here is to ensure that no patient with a history of prior exposure to chronic glucocorticoid therapy (> 3 months) by whatever route should die without consideration for parenteral glucocorticoid therapy," the editorialists write. He advises using physiological stress doses of hydrocortisone (50-100 mg intravenously tid). Specific Advice for Adrenal Insufficiency: Follow Sick Day Rules A separate statement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) also emphasizes that it is particularly important for patients with adrenal insufficiency to follow advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or similar guidance on preventing COVID-19 infection, including social distancing and frequent hand washing. Such patients should continue to take medications as prescribed and ensure they have appropriate supplies of oral and injectable steroids, ideally for 90 days, AACE advises. And if there is a shortage of hydrocortisone, the statement advises patients ask a pharmacist or physician about replacement hydrocortisone with different doses that might be available. Stewart agrees that patients with adrenal insufficiency need to be hypervigilant, but says that "if they do become ill, for the most part they are well counseled to respond appropriately to intercurrent infections." Nevertheless, it is "invaluable to reiterate 'sick day rules'" for suspected COVID-19 infection. "Any patient who develops a dry continuous cough and fever should immediately double their daily oral glucocorticoid dose and continue on this regimen until the fever has subsided." If a patient still deteriorates on this regimen, develops diarrhea or vomiting, or is unable to take oral glucocorticoids for other reasons, they should contact their physicians or seek urgent medical care to receive parenteral treatment with a glucocorticoid. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published online March 31, 2020. Position statement For more diabetes and endocrinology news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. From https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928072?nlid=134869_3901&src=wnl_newsalrt_200404_MSCPEDIT&uac=295048SY&impID=2335560&faf=1&fbclid=IwAR1zZe6fqDS3tKuHUYoFpbvBMkQYJ4JN59RzC93xdzVcGGkJIz5bnmmE4LY
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With the novel COVID-19 virus continuing to spread, it is crucial to adhere to the advice from experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help reduce risk of infection for individuals and the population at large. This is particularly important for people with adrenal insufficiency and people with uncontrolled Cushing’s Syndrome. Studies have reported that individuals with adrenal insufficiency have an increased rate of respiratory infection-related deaths, possibly due to impaired immune function. As such, people with adrenal insufficiency should observe the following recommendations: Maintain social distancing to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 Continue taking medications as prescribed Ensure appropriate supplies for oral and injectable steroids at home, ideally a 90-day preparation In the case of hydrocortisone shortages, ask your pharmacist and physician about replacement with different strengths of hydrocortisone tablets that might be available. Hydrocortisone (or brand name Cortef) tablets have 5 mg, 10 mg or 20 mg strength In cases of acute illness, increase the hydrocortisone dose per instructions and call the physician’s office for more details Follow sick day rules for increasing oral glucocorticoids or injectables per your physician’s recommendations In general, patients should double their usual glucocorticoid dose in times of acute illness In case of inability to take oral glucocorticoids, contact your physician for alternative medicines and regimens If experiencing fever, cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms, call both the COVID-19 hotline (check your state government website for contact information) and your primary care physician or endocrinologist Monitor symptoms and contact your physician immediately following signs of illness Acquire a medical alert bracelet/necklace in case of an emergency Individuals with uncontrolled Cushing’s Syndrome of any origin are at higher risk of infection in general. Although information on people with Cushing’s Syndrome and COVID-19 is scarce, given the rarity of the condition, those with Cushing’s Syndrome should strictly adhere to CDC recommendations: Maintain social distancing to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 If experiencing fever, cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms, call both the COVID-19 hotline (check your state government website for contact information) and your primary care physician or endocrinologist In addition, people with either condition should continue to follow the general guidelines at these times: Stay home as much as possible to reduce your risk of being exposed When you do go out in public, avoid crowds and limit close contact with others Avoid non-essential travel Wash your hands with soap and water regularly, for at least 20 seconds, especially before eating or drinking and after using the restroom and blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with a tissue or a flexed elbow, then throw the tissue in the trash Avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose when possible From https://www.aace.com/recent-news-and-updates/aace-position-statement-coronavirus-covid-19-and-people-adrenal
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Webinar: Dr. Theodore Friedman will host an important webinar on Coronavirus
MaryO posted a calendar event in Cushie Calendar
Dr. Theodore Friedman will host an important webinar on Coronavirus Information for Endocrine Patients Many patients have asked Dr. Friedman what do during the Coronavirus Pandemic. He will give candid answers from his view as an Endocrinologist. He will also talk about new telehealth opportunities for his patients. Sunday • April 5 • 6 PM PST Click here on start your meeting or https://axisconciergemeetings.webex.com/axisconciergemeetings/j.php?MTID=m505da5a10afe3aeea456e162414c17b9 OR Join by phone: (855) 797-9485 Meeting Number (Access Code): 807 657 124 Your phone/computer will be muted on entry. Slides will be available on the day of the talk here There will be plenty of time for questions using the chat button. Meeting Password: hormones For more information, email us at mail@goodhormonehealth.com -
Along with all of you, NADF is monitoring this outbreak by paying close attention to CDC and FDA updates. We have also asked our Medical Advisor to help answer your important questions as they come up. We asked Medical Director Paul Margulies, MD, FACE, FACP to help us with this question: Question: Does Adrenal Insufficiency cause us to have a weakened immune system and therefore make us more susceptible? Response: Individuals with adrenal insufficiency on replacement doses of glucocorticoids do not have a suppressed immune system. The autoimmune mechanism that causes Addison’s disease does not cause an immune deficiency that would make one more likely to get an infection. The problem is with the individual’s ability to deal with the stress of an infection once it develops. Those with adrenal insufficiency fall into that category. When sick with a viral infection, they can have a more serious illness, and certainly require stress dose steroids to help to respond to the illness. If someone with adrenal insufficiency contracts the coronavirus, it is more likely to lead to the need for supportive care, including hospitalization. This information from the CDC Website provides important information regarding Prevention & Treatment. You can find this information here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention-treatment.html From https://www.nadf.us/
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