More proof of PTH’s predictive power
“The utility of postoperative PTH for predicting symptomatic hypocalcemia is beneficial for guiding postoperative management of patients following total thyroidectomy,” said Larissa Sweeny, MD, of the University of Miami, who served as a moderator for the session in which the study was presented.
“Proper identification of patients that require supplemental medications following surgery reduces administration of medications to patients that do not require supplemental medications,” Dr. Sweeny said in an interview.
In addition, better identification not only ensures that the patients who do require supplemental medications receive them but also reduces postoperative complications and readmissions, she said.
For clinical practice, the current study “reinforces the utility of postoperative PTH lab values for guiding medication administration following total thyroidectomy,” said Dr. Sweeny. “I have been using postoperative PTH lab values following total thyroidectomy to guide my postoperative management of these patients for over 6 years.”
However, looking ahead to additional research, “Correlation with dosage of supplemental calcium and duration to return of normal PTH would be helpful information,” Dr. Sweeny said.
The study received no outside funding. The researchers and Dr. Sweeny report no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.