In order to improve success rates in surgery of renal hyperparathyroidism, we evaluated intraoperative PTH (IOPTH) measurement utility. 86 patients underwent total parathyroidectomy with intramuscular presternal autotransplantation from 04/2000 to 10/2009 and were followed for 26.5 months on average (prospective cohort). Patients were divided in secondary (SHPT) and tertiary hyperparathyroidism (THPT). SHPT group was composed by patients under dialysis treatment, THPT group included renal grafted ones. IOPTH (Elecsys-PTH-Immunoassay/Roche) was measured at anesthesia induction (IOPTH-0') and 20 minutes (IOPTH-20') after parathyroidectomy. 80.2% (69/86) presented with 80% decrease or more in the IOPTH-20' and all were cured. In 11/86 patients (12.7%), a lower IOPTH-20' drop (70-79%) was observed, and 2 of them (18.1%) failed to cure. 6/86 (6.9%) patients presented IO-PTH-20' decrease of less than 70%: two were cured, in three a supernumerary/ectopic parathyroid was found and removed, and in one of these six patients, surgery was finished after 4-gland excision and the patient failure to cure. IOPTH-20' decrease of 80% or more compared to IOPTH-0' predicts cure in all renal patients throughout follow-up. A decay of less than 70% points to missed or hyperfunctioning supernumerary gland and is predictive of surgical failure in 66.6%. A marginal IOPTH drop of 70-79% leaves the decision whether or not surgery should be continued up to the experienced surgeon.

Hyperparathyroidism is an expected metabolic consequence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Ectopic and/or supernumerary parathyroid glands (PT) may be the cause of surgical failure in patients undergoing total parathyroidectomy (PTX). To define the locations of ectopic and supernumerary PT in patients with renal hyperparathyroidism and to correlate intraoperative findings with preoperative tests. A retrospective study was conducted with 166 patients submitted to PTX. The location of PT during surgery was recorded and classified as eutopic or ectopic. The preoperative localizations of PT found by ultrasonography (USG) and Tc99m-Sestamibi scintigraphy (MIBI) were subsequently compared with intraoperative findings. In the 166 patients studied, 664 PT were found. Five-hundred-seventy-seven (86.4%) glands were classified as eutopic and 91(13.6%) as ectopic. Eight supernumerary PT were found. The most common sites of ectopic PT were in the retroesophageal and thymic regions. Taken together, USG and MIBI did not identify 56 (61.5%) ectopic glands. MIBI was positive for 69,7% of all ectopic glands located in the mediastinal and thymic regions. The presence of ectopic and supernumerary PT in patients with renal hyperparathyroidism is significant. Although preoperative imaging tests did not locate most of ectopic glands, MIBI may be important for identifying ectopic PT in the mediastinal and thymic regions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the measurement of peri-operative parathyroid hormone (PTH) is able to identify patients with increased risk of developing symptoms of hypocalcemia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty patients who underwent total thyroidectomy were studied prospectively. Ionized serum calcium and PTH were measured after induction of anesthesia, one hour (PTH1) and one day after surgery (PTH24). Patients were evaluated for symptoms of hypocalcemia and treated with calcium and vitamin D supplementation as necessary. RESULTS: Symptomatic hypocalcemia developed in 16 patients. Symptomatic patients had significant lower PTH1 and greater drops in PTH levels. The selection of 12.1 ng/L as PTH1 level cutoff level divided patients with and without symptoms with 93.7% sensitivity and 91.6% specificity. The selection of 73.5% as the cutoff value for PTH decrease resulted in 91.6% sensitivity and 87.5% specificity. CONCLUSION: PTH1 levels and the drop in PTH levels are reliable predictors of developing symptomatic hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy.

In contrast to most developed countries, most patients with primary hyperparathyroidism in Brazil are still symptomatic at diagnosis. However, we have been observing a change in this pattern, especially in the last few years. We evaluated 104 patients, 77 females and 27 males aged 11-79 years (mean: 54.4 years), diagnosed between 1985 and 2002 at a University Hospital. Diagnosis was made on the basis of clinical findings and of high total and/or ionized calcium levels, high or inappropriate levels of intact parathyroid hormone and of surgical findings in 80 patients. Patients were divided into three groups, i.e., patients diagnosed from 1985 to 1989, patients diagnosed from 1990 to 1994, and patients diagnosed from 1995 to 2002. The number of new cases diagnosed/year increased from 1.8/year in the first group to 6.0/year in the second group and 8.1/year in the third group. The first group comprised 9 patients (mean serum calcium +/- SD, 13.6 +/- 1.6 mg/dl), 8 of them (88.8%) defined as symptomatic. The second group comprised 30 patients (mean calcium +/- SD, 12.2 +/- 1.63 mg/dl), 22 of them defined as symptomatic (73.3%). The third group contained 65 patients (mean calcium 11.7 +/- 1.1 mg/dl), 34 of them symptomatic (52.3%). Patients from the first group tended to be younger (mean +/- SD, 43.0 +/- 15 vs 55.1 +/- 14.4 and 55.7 +/- 17.3 years, respectively) and their mean serum calcium was significantly higher (P < 0.05). All of symptomatic patients independent of group had higher serum calcium levels (12.4 +/- 1.53 mg/dl, N = 64) than asymptomatic patients (11.4 +/- 1.0 mg/dl, N = 40). Our data showed an increase in the percentage of asymptomatic patients over the years in the number of primary hyperparathyroidism cases diagnosed. This finding may be due to an increased availability of diagnostic methods and/or to an increased awareness about the disease.

Primary hyperparathyroidism is an endocrine disorder with variable clinical expression, frequently presenting as asymptomatic hypercalcemia in Western countries but still predominantly as a symptomatic disease in developing countries. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the diagnostic presentation profile, parathyroidectomy indication and post-surgical bone mineral density follow-up of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism seen at a university hospital. We found 115 patients (92 women, median age 56 years) with primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosed during the last 20 years. We defined symptomatic patients based on the presence of any classical symptom affecting bone, kidney or the neuromuscular system. Surgical criteria followed the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health regarding asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism. Symptomatic patients and patients meeting surgical criteria for parathyroidectomy were 66 and 93% of the sample, respectively. Median calcium and parathyroid hormone values were 11.9 mg/dL and 189 pg/mL, respectively. After surgical treatment, 97% of patients were cured, with increases in bone mineral density of 19.4% in the lumbar spine and 15.7% in the femoral neck 3 years after surgery. Greater bone mass increases were detected in pre-menopausal women, men, and in symptomatic and younger patients, both in the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Our results support the previous findings of a predominantly symptomatic disease with a presentation profile that could be mainly related to a delayed diagnosis. Nevertheless, genetic and racial backgrounds, and nutritional factors such as calcium and vitamin D deficiency may play a role in the clinical presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism of Brazilian patients.

Surgical treatment of secondary (SHPT) and tertiary hyperparathyroidism (THPT) may involve various surgical approaches. The aim of this paper was to evaluate presternal intramuscular autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue as a surgical option in SHPT and THPT treatment. 66 patients with renal chronic disease underwent surgery from April 2000 to April 2005 at Universidade Federal São Paulo, Brazil. There were 38 SHPT patients (24 women/14 men), mean age of 39.yrs (range: 14–58), and 28 THPT patients (14 women/14 men), mean age of 43.4 yrs (range: 24–62). Postoperative average followup was 42.9 months (range: 12–96). Postoperative intact PTH increased throughout followup from 73.5 pg/mL to 133 pg/mL on average from 1st to the 5th year, respectively, in SHPT and from 54.9 pg/mL to 94.7 pg/mL on average from 1st to 5th year, respectively, in THPT group. Definitive hypoparathyroidism was observed in 4 (6.06%) patients and graft-dependent recurrence in 6 (9.09%). Presternal intramuscular autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue is a feasible and safe surgical option in SHPT and THPT treatment.