Frequency Of Post-operative Hypocalcaemia Following Thyroid Surgery At A Tertiary Care Hospital Of Sindh

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the frequency of post-operative hypocalcaemia following thyroid surgery at a tertiary care hospital of Sindh Study design: Observational study Place and Duration: Department of surgery, Isra University Hospital from December 2014 to July 2017. Materials and Methods: 100 cases of thyroid swellings were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Pre- operative patient history, physical examination, thyroid gland examination and laboratory investigations were performed. A serum calcium levels <8 mg/dl was taken as hypocalcemia. Data was analyzed on SPSS 21 version and P value (P< 0.05) was considered significant. Results: Of 100 patients, 67% were female and 33% were male (P=0.0001). Female dominancy was noted with female to male ratio of 2.03:1. Age (mean± SD) was noted as 37.5 ± 9.5 years (19 – 48 years). Frequency of symptomatic hypocalcaemia was noted in 23% subjects post operatively. Mean± SD serum calcium and phosphate in post operative hypocalcemia subjects was noted as 7.31 ± 0.38 mg/dl and 2.95 ± 0.63 mg/dl respectively. Majority of symptomatic hypocalcemia were noted within 72 hours post operatively. Conclusion: The present study reports 23% frequency of post thyroidectomy hypocalcemia noted within 72 hours post operatively. Goiters of long duration, recurrent goiters, hyperthyroidism and goiters with retro sternal extensions were found risk factors for the post thyroidectomy hypocalcemia