Sisco Jill, van der Lely A J
Acromegaly Community Patient's Advocacy Organization, Grove, OK 74344, USA.
Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus University MC, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
J Clin Med. 2021 Mar 26;10(7):1363. doi: 10.3390/jcm10071363.
Acromegaly is a rare disease and the clinical features of acromegaly develop insidiously; its diagnosis is often significantly delayed. Therefore, earlier diagnosis will improve the quality of life of the patient and reduce the need for other therapies to control the initial and ongoing damage that acromegaly presents. In this chapter, we describe the view of the patient and the clinician on the importance of earlier diagnosis, as well as on what can be done to speed up this process. Earlier diagnosis will not only improve quality of life and the burden of disease in acromegaly patients, but it will also have a positive impact in the economic burden of this rare disease.
肢端肥大症是一种罕见疾病，其临床特征隐匿发展；通常会显著延迟诊断。因此，早期诊断将改善患者的生活质量，并减少为控制肢端肥大症所造成的初始和持续损害而进行其他治疗的需求。在本章中，我们阐述了患者和临床医生对于早期诊断重要性的看法，以及为加速这一进程可采取的措施。早期诊断不仅会改善肢端肥大症患者的生活质量和疾病负担，还将对这种罕见疾病的经济负担产生积极影响。
