Mehanna, Hisham M., Jain, Anurag, Randeva, Harpal S., Watkinson, John and Shaha, Ashok. (2010) Postoperative hypocalcemia - the difference a definition makes. Head & Neck, Vol.32 (No.3). pp. 279-283. ISSN 1043-3074

Abstract

Background Review of the literature reveals considerable variability in the definitions and criteria used for reporting postoperative hypocalcemia. The lack of standardization prevents a meaningful comparison of results and performance locally with the national standard. It also prevents the pooling of data when performing meta-analysis, and may affect the comparison of research results. Methods A literature review was performed to identify the different definitions used to define hypocalcemia in post-thyroidectomy patients. We analyzed the incidence of hypocalcemia in the same cohort of 202 post thyroidectomy patients using these definitions. Results The reported hypocalcemia rates varied from 0% to 46% for the same cohort depending on the definition of hypocalcemia used. Only one-third of biochemically hypocalcemic patients requested calcium supplementation. Conclusion This study demonstrates the need for more uniformity and standardization in the definitions used for reporting hypocalcemia rates. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010

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