The Endocrinology and Nutrition Service (SEIN) is part of the Clinical Directorate of Endocrinology and Nutrition. Its mission is the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting the endocrine system, metabolism and the nutritional status of patients. This area includes diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, disorders of the adrenal and pituitary glands, dyslipidaemias and obesity, as well as nutritional and metabolic disorders associated with other highly complex diseases.

The department is organised into functional units and highly specialised clinics. Among the units are the Diabetes Unit, the Multidisciplinary Obesity Unit and the Diabetic Foot Unit. As for specialised consultations, the service offers the High-Resolution Consultation for Thyroid Pathology, the Consultation for Hypothalamic, Pituitary and Adrenal Disorders, the Clinical Nutrition Consultation, the Dyslipidaemia Consultation and the Specialised Consultation for Congenital Metabolic Errors. This organisation provides patients with comprehensive, personalised and highly specialised care, and consolidates the service as a centre of reference for the Barcelonès Nord and Maresme areas.

The Service works in close collaboration with various hospital specialities to ensure a multidisciplinary approach to endocrinological and nutritional pathologies.

In this regard, it collaborates closely with the Departments of Oncology, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Nephrology and Internal Medicine, as well as with specific units such as the Immunosuppression Unit and the HIV Unit (Lluita contra les Infeccions Foundation).

In the field of teaching, the service has maintained an intense activity in both undergraduate training, at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Vic, and postgraduate training, with the 9th edition of the International Master's in the Diabetic Foot. Furthermore, the department has an extensive track record in teaching and training, welcoming national and international students, as well as junior doctors in Endocrinology and Nutrition, Family Medicine and other medical specialities.

The combination of specialised care, clinical innovation, teaching and research consolidates the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service as a fundamental pillar within the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital. The aim is to provide high-quality, patient-centred care, supported by the most up-to-date scientific evidence.

Service highlights

• Germans Trias Hospital launches the first early detection programme in Catalonia to detect type 1 diabetes before the first symptoms appear.
• A project led by Germans Trias that uses AI to detect early facial changes in patients with acromegaly increases its accuracy.
• The ‘Patient Journey Radar’ project from Germans Trias Hospital wins the award for the best communication on the patient experience at the SECA congress.
• The Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute demonstrates how personalised medicine helps to better control the effects of acromegaly
• Germans Trias Hospital launches a pioneering physical exercise and healthy eating programme for people of Pakistani origin with obesity
• Spain's first major study to assess the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in the adult population launches at Germans Trias Hospital
• Manel Puig receives the 2024 ICS Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Research Day, focused on respiratory diseases

This is a programme in which the nurse monitors hyperglycaemia and detects hospitalised patients with glycated haemoglobin >9% (HbA1c).
Based on the results, an insulin treatment regimen is recommended during the hospital stay and for discharge. In cases where necessary, the situation is discussed with the ward consultant in Endocrinology.

This is a project designed to optimise the dietary approach to various pathologies. It has a physical space where a dietitian-nutritionist provides basic theoretical education, which is complemented by a practical and participatory approach, with the support of external experts in the field.

In collaboration with the Interventional Radiology Department, our hospital was the first in Spain to perform selective embolisation of the thyroid arteries. This is a procedure aimed at symptomatically controlling a goitre with intrathoracic extension in patients at high surgical risk.

Together with the Department of General Surgery, a specific project has been developed for patients with spinal cord injuries and obesity who are candidates for bariatric surgery, with the aim of offering enhanced monitoring and a rehabilitation programme to help improve their quality of life.

In collaboration with the Neurology Department, the use of the ketogenic diet is offered as a treatment for patients with epilepsy that is refractory to standard treatment.

Use of nutritional ultrasound and measurement of adipose and muscle tissue using computed tomography.

SEiN, together with the IGTP Research Institute, currently collaborates with professionals from other hospital services, as well as with national and international centres. In recent years, the Service's research activity, both in the clinical and basic fields, has experienced remarkable growth.

At the end of 2022, the research group was re-accredited as a consolidated SGR Research Group, a testament to its track record and scientific rigour.

The Service's consolidated research lines include:

• Endocrine tumours (pituitary, adrenal and thyroid).
• Obesity.
• Diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases.
• Pregnancy and endocrinological pathologies.

The SEiN actively participates in numerous international clinical trials, focusing on key areas such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular risk. In the latter, our centre is the only participant in Spain.

• In the field of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, the Service has been involved in multicentre studies that have evaluated new treatments to improve the prognosis of patients with dyslipidaemias, hypertriglyceridaemia and elevated lipoprotein(a), as well as in the prevention of major cardiovascular events. Among the trials already completed are ARISE-HF, EZEB, IONIS CS9, IONIS CS6 and VESALIUS. Currently, EZEF, OCEAN Lp(a), IONIS CS15, VICTORION-1 PREVENT and PREVESTATGx are underway.
• Regarding obesity, the Service is participating in the ATTAIN-1 study, which analyses the efficacy and safety of a new oral treatment in patients with excess weight and associated comorbidities, and in the PASIPHY study, which evaluates new treatments for post-bariatric hypoglycaemia.
• In the field of diabetes, real-world evidence studies are being developed, such as PIONEER REAL and TRUE EXPERIENCE, as well as the RENAL-TIR project. Also noteworthy are SURPASS GPJD, in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and obesity, and REIMAGINE, on diabetic neuropathy.
• In the field of thyroidology, the Service is participating in the IMVT-1402 study, which is exploring new treatments for Graves' disease.
• Finally, in 2024, the ACCLAIM-Lp(a) trial, of great international relevance, was initiated, also led by the SEiN.
• Newly, in 2025, new studies have been added: AMG-133 (cardiovascular risk), AMG-222 (lipoprotein(a) in primary prevention), DEBIO (acromegaly) and NN9536-497, in pregnant women with prior GLP-1 use before conception.

You can find more information about the research work of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service on the website of the Research Institute of Germans Trias i Pujol.

Undergraduate teaching

• Can Ruti Teaching Unit. Faculty of Medicine. UAB. Autonomous University of Barcelona.

The SEiN is actively involved in teaching the Endocrinology and Nutrition programme of the Bachelor's degree in Medicine and Surgery at UAB, within the Medicine and Surgery V module in the fifth year, as well as in the rotating course programme. Currently, five clinicians from the Service deliver lectures and seminars. The teaching staff consists of one full professor accredited as a catedrático, two associate professors and two part-time clinical associate professors.

• University of Vic

The department has an associate professor affiliated with the University of Vic.

• University of Barcelona

The department has an associate professor affiliated with the University of Barcelona.

Postgraduate teaching

SEiN has been accredited for the training of specialist doctors in Endocrinology and Nutrition since 1985.

Currently, it has four residents, one for each training year. At the end of 2024, the Service obtained accreditation from the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Ministry of Health to take on a second Endocrinology and Nutrition resident at our hospital.

The residents are actively involved in both outpatient and inpatient care. They also take part in various diagnostic procedures in the field of endocrinology. They undertake a rotation in the Paediatrics department and another at the Puigvert Foundation.

In the fourth year of residency, residents have the option to undertake an external rotation in different hospitals, both within and outside Spain, for a maximum duration of two months. In addition, residents actively participate in research projects, which can culminate in the publication of articles and the completion of doctoral theses if they so wish.

Finally, residents have the opportunity to attend congresses at a Catalan, national and international level.

Continuing training

The SEiN holds monthly update sessions on various diseases. In addition, the SEiN organises weekly sessions where the most relevant clinical cases of the week are discussed.Two courses each year on Endocrinology and Nutrition

• One course each year on thyroid disease
• One course each year on nutrition
• One course each year on diabetes and obesity
• One course each year on the diabetic foot

• Information for residents

► Consult the teaching guide.