| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 28
| Issue : 2 | Page : 174-177 |
|
|
Hypocalcaemia following thyroid surgery in a tertiary care centre
Anusha Vadivelu, KN Vijayan, Liju Varghese
Department of General Surgery, KIMSHEALTH Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Anusha Vadivelu
Department of General Surgery, KIMSHEALTH Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 029, Kerala
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/ksj.ksj_47_22
|
|
|
Introduction: Hypocalcaemia may occur secondarily to surgical trauma, devascularisation, unintentional removal of parathyroid glands and ligation of both inferior thyroid arteries. The objective of the study was to evaluate the calcium level after thyroid surgery and to evaluate the clinical symptoms and signs of hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery. Materials and Methods: Eighty-one patients were evaluated; post-operatively, the calcium levels were monitored and early hypocalcaemia was detected by looking for the symptoms and signs of hypocalcaemia. The calcium levels were recorded from post-operative day 1, 2, 3 and 7. By this method, low serum calcium levels are corrected by calcium supplements and can prevent the need of parental calcium. Results: The most common age group affected by thyroid disorders was 41–50 years and less common age group affected was above 60 years. Females (71.6%) were commonly affected by thyroid disorders compared to males (28.4%). Majority of the patients were diagnosed with multinodular goitre (42%), followed by papillary carcinoma (39.5%). Most of our study population underwent total thyroidectomy (around 90%). The number of patients who encountered carpodeal spasm was 1.2% Chovstek sign, trousseau sign, electrocardiogram changes were seen in 2.5% population Patients who received treatment for symptomatic hypocalcaemia was 2.5%. Conclusion: Females were more prone to hypocalcaemia compared to males. Hypocalcaemia was found to be more prevalent in those patients who underwent total thyroidectomy compared to other surgeries. This can be prevented by meticulous dissection, identification of parathyroid and serial monitoring of calcium levels. Our study also serves as a cost-effective tool for the general population and immediate intervention can be given to the patients who are at risk to become symptomatic and improve their quality of life.
|
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
