Características de pacientes con acromegalia atendidos en el Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga. Cuenca, 2014 - 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare, slow-onset and insidious disease characterized by growth hormone hypersecretion, generally associated with the presence of a pituitary adenoma. In Ecuador, the information about the epidemiological characterization of acromegaly as well as its associated comorbidities is scarce. Objective: to determine the characteristics of the patients with acromegaly treated at the José Carrasco Arteaga Hospital from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2019. Methods: this is an observational and descriptive study. Data were collected from 88 electronic medical records of patients with a diagnosis of acromegaly. Statistical analysis was performed with PSPP 1.4.1 software. Qualitative variables were obtained and displayed in tables of numerical and percentage frequency. Quantitative variables with mean and standard deviations were also obtained. Results: the male gender represented 55.7%, the mean age at diagnosis was 43.27 years. Pituitary adenoma was registered in 83% of the cases. The accompanying symptoms were headache, visual field defects, and arthralgias in 18.2%, 27.3%, and 29.5% of the cases, respectively. 48.9% of cases received surgical treatment. The prevalence of comorbidities was: hypopituitarism (38.6%), hypercholesterolemia (36.4%), arterial hypertension (29.5%), hypertriglyceridemia (22.7%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (22.7%) and ventricular hypertrophy (11.4%). Conclusions: it was more frequent in males, 83% were associated with the presence of pituitary adenoma. The prevalence of comorbidities was similar to that reported in the literature, except for: dyslipidemia, ventricular hypertrophy, and hyperprolactinemia.