Metabolic disorders in children with cushing's syndrome due to long term use of glucocorticoids
Main Article Content
Abstract
Our study describes the metabolic characteristics of 136 children diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome due to glucocorticoid use at Vietnam National Children’s Hospital from July to September 2024. The median age of participants was 7.15 years old. Nutritional assessment showed that 24.2% were overweight or obese, 63.2% had normal weight, and 12.5% were undernourished. Laboratory tests revealed elevated fasting glucose in 11.5% of patients, hypercholesterolemia in 62.2%, and hypertriglyceridemia in 30.3%. Fatty liver was detected by abdominal ultrasound in 10.3% of cases. Notably, several patients developed metabolic abnormalities even with normal or low BMI. These disturbances occurred across different age groups and may progress silently without regular monitoring. The study highlights the importance of early detection and routine metabolic screening in children receiving prolonged glucocorticoid therapy to prevent long-term complications such as metabolic syndrome or cardiovascular disease.
Article Details
Keywords
Exogenous Cushing’s syndrome, glucocorticoid, metabolic disorder
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