Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38030913›Full record

ArticleLangenbeck's archives of surgery2023

Low serum iPTH at the end of surgery is the earliest predictor of postoperative hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy.

Alexandros Lalos, Alexander Wilhelm, Katja Linke, Stephanie Taha-Mehlitz, Beat Müller, Alberto Posabella, Beatrice Kern

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Langenbeck's archives of surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Alexandros LalosClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Alexander WilhelmClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. alexander.wilhelm@clarunis.ch.
Katja LinkeClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Stephanie Taha-MehlitzClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Beat MüllerClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Alberto PosabellaClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Beatrice KernClarunis - University Digestive Health Care Center, St. Clara Hospital and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
University Hospital of Basel · CHSt. Claraspital · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe most frequent complication of total thyroidectomy remains hypocalcemia due to low postoperative levels of serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH). The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of decreased iPTH at the end of surgery in predicting hypocalcemia. In addition, we examined the percentage decrease of iPTH as potential indicator of hypocalcemia.

methodsWe retrospectively collected the data of patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for benign and malignant diseases at our institution between 2010 and 2022. The iPTH level was measured before and at the end of surgery, and serum calcium levels on the first postoperative day. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical characteristics of patients with low iPTH were compared with patients with normal iPTH levels using ANOVA for continuous variables and χ2-tests for categorical variables. Multivariable logistic regression analysis evaluated the association of iPTH at the end of surgery and the relative reduction of iPTH with postoperative hypocalcemia.

resultsThe mean age of the 607 patients in this study was 55.6 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 5:1. Goiter was the most common indication for surgery (N = 382, 62.9%), followed by Graves' disease (N = 135, 22.2%). The mean preoperative iPTH was 49.0 pg/ml, while the mean postoperative iPTH was 29.3 pg/ml. A total of 197 patients (32.5%) had an iPTH level below normal, 77 patients (39%), had iPTH levels of 10-15.0 pg/ml and 120 patients (61%) of < 10.0 pg/ml at the end of surgery. Among all patients, 124 (20.4%) developed hypocalcemia on the first postoperative day. The mean percentage of decrease of iPTH was highest among patients with iPTH < 10 pg/ml (76.9%, p < 0.01); this group of patients had also the highest rate of postoperative hypocalcemia on day one (45.0% vs. 26.0% vs 12.2%, p < 0.01).

conclusionsMeasurement of iPTH at the end of total thyroidectomy predicts patients who are at risk for postoperative hypocalcemia. The combination of low serum iPTH with a decrease in iPTH level of ≥ 50% may improve prediction of hypocalcemia compared to iPTH levels alone allowing for early calcium substitution in these patients at high risk of developing postoperative hypocalcemia.

Indexed as

Graves DiseaseHypocalcemiaHypoparathyroidismCalciumFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedParathyroid HormonePostoperative ComplicationsRetrospective StudiesThyroidectomyCalciumParathyroid HormoneHypocalcemiaHypoparathyroidismiPTHPercentage decrease of iPTHSymptomatic hypocalcemiaTotal thyroidectomy

Identifiers

PMID38030913
PMCPMC10687095
OpenAlexW4389153487

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.