Diagnosis of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: proceedings of the third international workshop

Asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common clinical problem. The purpose of this report is to guide the use of diagnostic tests for this condition in clinical practice.

Interested professional societies selected a representative for the consensus committee and provided funding for a one-day meeting. A subgroup of this committee set the program and developed key questions for review. Consensus was established at a closed meeting that followed. The conclusions were then circulated to the participating professional societies.

Each question was addressed by a relevant literature search (on PubMed), and the data were presented for discussion at the group meeting.

Consensus was achieved by a group meeting. Statements were prepared by all authors, with comments relating to accuracy from the diagnosis subgroup and by representatives from the participating professional societies.

We conclude that: 1) reference ranges should be established for serum PTH in vitamin D-replete healthy individuals; 2) second- and third-generation PTH assays are both helpful in the diagnosis of PHPT; 3) DNA sequence testing can be useful in familial hyperparathyroidism or hypercalcemia; 4) normocalcemic PHPT is a variant of the more common presentation of PHPT with hypercalcemia; 5) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels should be measured and, if vitamin D insufficiency is present, it should be treated as part of any management course; and 6) the estimated glomerular filtration rate should be used to determine the level of kidney function in PHPT: an estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 60 ml/min.1.73 m2 should be a benchmark for decisions about surgery in established asymptomatic PHPT.