TABLE 1.
Comparison of Preoperative, Intraoperative, and Postoperative Characteristics in Patients With or Without Postoperative Hypocalcemia
| Hypocalcemia | Missing data, n (%) | Control | Missing data, n (%) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 100 | — | 510 | — | — |
| Median age, y (IQR) | 44.5 (35.2–55) | 0 | 52 (39–63) | 0 | 0.0006 |
| Female sex, n (%) | 85 (85) | 0 | 374 (73.3) | 0 | 0.015 |
| Median BMI, kg/m2 (IQR) | 24.2 (22.3–31.2) | 18 (18) | 27.6 (23.9–32.5) | 62 (12) | 0.001 |
| Preoperative history, n (%) | |||||
| Hyperthyroidism | 32 (32.0) | 0 | 181 (35.5) | 0 | 0.566 |
| Preoperative vitamin D deficiency supplementation | 16 (16.0) | 1 (1) | 78 (15.29) | 8 (1.6) | 0.879 |
| Surgical indication, n (%) | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Grave disease | 16 (16.0) | — | 95 (18.6) | — | — |
| Suspicious node | 36 (36.0) | — | 183 (35.9) | — | — |
| Toxic node | 4 (3.0) | — | 7 (1.37) | — | — |
| Suspicious multinodular goiter | 11 (10.0) | — | 45 (8.8) | — | 0.530 |
| Toxic multinodular goiter | 11 (11.0) | — | 64 (12.5) | — | — |
| Symptomatic goiter | 22 (22.0) | — | 113 (22.2) | — | — |
| Other* | 0 | — | 3 (0.59) | — | — |
| Preoperative biological data, median (IQR) | |||||
| Serum albumin (g/dL) | 43 (39.5–46) | 23 (23) | 43 (41–46) | 141 (27,6) | 0.148 |
| Serum creatinine (mg/L) | 7 (6–8) | 7 (7) | 7 (6–8) | 57 (11.2) | 0.208 |
| Serum Vitamin D (ng/mL) | 25 (17–29) | 18 (18) | 25 (18–32) | 102 (20) | 0.462 |
| Serum PTH at anesthetic induction (pg/mL) | 59 (38.2–81.7) | 0 (0) | 61 (44.7–80.2) | 0 (0) | 0.441 |
| Intraoperative data | |||||
| Median operating time, minutes (IQR) | 166 (131–229) | 0 (0) | 159 (132–197) | 2 (0.4) | 0.166 |
| No. parathyroids seen, median (IQR) | 4 (3–4) | 1 (1) | 4 (3–4) | 26 (5.1) | 0.7743 |
| Neck dissection, n (%) | 40 (40.0) | 0 | 167 (32.7) | 0 | 0.167 |
| Parathyroid reimplantation, n (%) | 13 (13.0) | 0 | 46 (9.0) | 0 | 0.265 |
| Abnormal postoperative laryngoscopy n (%) | 8 (8.0) | 2 (2) | 27 (5.29) | 12 (2.4) | 0.343 |
| Median thyroid weight, gram (IQR) | 44 (24–90) | 1 (1) | 43 (22–86) | 11 (2.2) | 0.705 |
| Postoperative biological data | |||||
| Median serum PTH at skin closure, pg/mL (IQR) | 0 (0-10) | 0 | 26 (16–43) | 0 | <0.0001 |
| Median serum PTH at POD 1, pg/mL (IQR) | 5 (0–12) | 0 | 26 (18–36) | 1 (0.2) | <0.0001 |
| Median serum calcium at POD 1, mg/L (IQR) | 80 (77–83) | 0 | 88 (86–91) | 1 (0.2) | <0.0001 |
| Median %PTH (%) (IQR) | 100 (83.2–100) | 0 | 51.4 (30–71.6) | 0 (0.2) | <0.0001 |
| Median hospital stay, days (IQR) | 3 (2–4) | 0 | 1 (1–2) | 0 | <0.0001 |
*Other indications consisted in 1 myasthenia and 2 drug-induced hyperthyroidism; %PTH : Percentage decay between PTH at anesthetic induction and PTH at skin closure; IQR: interquartile range
N indicates number.