WHAT SHOULD BE THE APPROACH TO MODERATE HYPOCALCAEMIA IN THE EARLY PERIOD FOLLOWING TOTAL THYROIDECTOMY?

It is unclear whether treatment is necessary for transient moderate hypocalcaemia occurring after total thyroidectomy; if it is present, it is unclear which treatment modality should be preferred.

To investigate both the necessity and effectiveness of different treatment approaches of oral and/or intravenous calcium treatment in patients with transient, postoperative, moderate hypocalcaemia.

This is a case control study made between June 2014 and June 2015.

Forty-five patients who had serum calcium levels 6 hours after total thyroidectomy between 7.5-8 mg/dL were divided into three equal groups: an oral calcium administration group, an intravenous calcium administration group and a no-treatment group. Serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 1, 2, 5 and 10.

For post-thyroidectomy patients with serum calcium 7.5-8 mg/dL in the early postoperative period, no significant difference in serum calcium or parathyroid hormone was detected between groups.

Follow-up without treatment seems to be the most effective approach for moderate hypocalcaemia occurring in the early period following total thyroidectomy; this suggests that intravenous treatment should be avoided.