Original CommunicationsLow parathyroid hormone levels after thyroid surgery: A feasible predictor of hypocalcemia*
Section snippets
Patients
A total of 38 consecutive patients, 6 men and 32 women, with a median age of 35 years (range, 15 to 80 years) were included in the study. The indication for surgery was Graves disease in 26 patients, goiter with symptoms of compression in 10 patients, and Plummer disease and suspected papillary thyroid cancer in 1 patient each. All patients except 1 had a normally functioning thyroid gland preoperatively. Twenty-three patients were treated with antithyroid drugs; 3 of these patients were also
Results
Postoperative serum concentrations of calcium were significantly reduced compared with preoperative concentrations (Table I).Variable Preoperatively After induction of anesthesia After resection of first lobe After resection of second lobe First postoperative day Second postoperative day Third postoperative day Follow-up 4 weeks after surgery Calcium (mmol/L) 2.37 ± 0.09 2.05 ± 0.14*** 2.09 ± 0.20*** 2.17 ± 0.23*** 2.31 ± 0.11** PTH
Discussion
Data from the present study confirm that transient hypoparathyroidism is a major contributing factor for hypocalcemia after bilateral thyroid surgery.14, 15, 17 The accuracy of a low intraoperative PTH level to predict biochemical and symptomatic postoperative hypocalcemia was not significantly different from that of the commonly used serum calcium concentration of less than 2.00 mmol/L obtained on the morning after surgery. Most important, however, intraoperative PTH level predicted all
References (17)
- et al.
Morbidity of thyroid surgery
Am J Surg
(1998) - et al.
Outpatient thyroid and parathyroid surgery: a prospective study of feasibility, safety, and costs
Surgery
(1995) - et al.
Evaluation of total/near-total thyroidectomy in a short-stay hospitalization: safe and cost-effective
Surgery
(1995) - et al.
Multivariate analysis of risk factors for postoperative complications in benign goiter surgery: prospective multicenter study in Germany
World J Surg
(2000) - et al.
Experience in a specialist thyroid surgery unit: a demographic study, surgical complications, and outcome
Eur J Surg
(1997) “Same-day” thyroid surgery: an analysis of safety, cost savings, and outcome
Am Surg
(1997)- et al.
Outpatient and short-stay thyroid surgery
Head Neck
(1991) - et al.
Risk factors for postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia
Surgery
(1994)
Cited by (168)
The role of early postoperative parathyroid hormone level after total thyroidectomy in prediction of hypocalcemia
2021, Annals of Medicine and SurgeryIntraoperative parathyroid hormone measurement facilitates outpatient thyroidectomy in children
2021, American Journal of SurgeryDetermination of risk factors causing hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery
2019, Asian Journal of SurgeryCitation Excerpt :It should be kept in mind that the more risk of female gender in our study may be based on the heterogeneous distribution of patients between the groups and the high number of female patients. In studies conducted by Kamer E. et al,11 Lindblom P. et al12 and Weiss A. et al,13 the elderly patients were more risky in the development of hypocalcaemia. In contrast to these studies, in studies conducted by Duclos A. et al,6 Cho JN et al7 and Hallgrimsson P et al,14 the development of hypocalcaemia after thyroidectomy was observed more common in young patients.
Factors predicting hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy – A retrospective cohort analysis
2018, International Journal of Surgery
- *
Reprint requests: Pia Lindblom, Department of Surgery, Lund University Hospital, S-221 85 Lund, Sweden.