Carcinoid syndrome

Carcinoid syndrome is characterized by episodic flushes, abdominal pain, diarrhea etc due to a serotonin secreting carcinoid tumour. Wrong statement about carcinoid syndrome 1. 5-HIAA (5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid) level in urine is elevated 2. Left sided heart valves are commonly involved 3. Octreotide radiolabelled scan is useful in diagnosis 4. Indicates hepatic metastasis Correct answer: 2. Left sided heart valves are commonly involved 5-HIAA is a metabolite of serotonin and is detected in increased quantity in urine in those with carcinoid syndrome and hence can be used as a diagnostic lab test. Intestinal carcinoid tumor without metastasis is unlikely to manifest the carcinoid syndrome as the liver acts as a filter and the serotonin produced by the tumor has no chance of affecting the heart valves. Presence of hepatic metastases help the increased serotonin levels to act on the right sided cardiac valves. Left sided valve involvement generally indicates additional lung metastases as lung acts as the second filter removing serotonin further from the circulation. Octreotide, a somatostatin analogue can be labelled with Indium-111 and used for imaging of neuroendocrine tumors which express somatostatin receptors. It is also useful for treating diarrhea and flushing associated with carcinoid syndrome.
Source: Cardiophile MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs