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Article: Evaluation of serum calcium levels in predicting hypoparathyroidism after total/near-total thyroidectomy or parathyroidectomy / Discussion
- Article from:
- The American Surgeon
- Article date:
- March 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright The Southeastern Surgical Congress Mar 2001. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Hospital stays for thyroid and parathyroid surgery have decreased significantly with selected patients staying under 8 hours. Strategies to recognize hypocalcemia postoperatively vary. We examined timed postoperative calcium levels to determine how long one needs to monitor patients for hypoparathyroidism. We analyzed 120 consecutive patients having total/near-total thyroidectomy and/or parathyroidectomy between April 1998 and October 1999. Total and ionized serum calcium levels were obtained at 8, 16, and 22 hours postoperatively. Strict criteria for significant hypoparathyroidism were defined as a symptomatic patient, a total calcium value of less than 7.2 mg/dL, or an ionized calcium ...