Introduction and objective:

Surgical hypoparathyroidism is a common complication following thyroid and parathyroid surgery. It has significant consequences for health and quality of life. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of its prevention, early detection, and treatment.

Synthesis:

Acute hypoparathyroidism can occur after thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy, especially in high-risk patients. Measurement of early postoperative intact parathyroid hormone (PTHi) can help guide patient management. A postoperative PTHi < 10-15 pg/ml combined with serum calcium assay testing 24 hours after surgery yielded the highest diagnostic accuracy for predicting acute hypocalcemia. Permanent hypoparathyroidism is associated with long-term morbidity and poor quality of life, and should be prevented whenever possible. Conventional treatment consist of oral calcium and active vitamin D analogs. For more severe or symptomatic hypocalcemia it is necessary intravenous calcium. Treatment require monitoring and patient education to avoid wide swings in serum calcium. However, with standard therapy, maintaining an adequate control often presents a therapeutic challenge. Recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH) replacement can lower the doses of calcium and active vitamin D analogs required, while maintaining serum calcium and phosphate levels within the recommended therapeutic ranges. It may improve bone metabolism and quality of life on the long term. Additional data on safety and efficacy are needed.

Conclusions:

Postoperative hypoparathyroidism is common. It requires early diagnosis, pharmacologic intervention and patient education to achieve optimal control and lower the risk of long-term complications. rhPTH seems to be an effective option for those patients who do not stably mantein their calcium in the target range.

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