Primary hyperparathyroidism in pregnancy: observations from the Indian PHPT registry

To present the data on primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in pregnancy from India obtained from a large database maintained over 15 years.

We retrieved data of all women with gestational PHPT from the Indian PHPT registry between July 2005 and January 2020, and compared their clinical, biochemical, and other characteristics with age-matched non-pregnant women with PHPT.

Out of 386 women, eight had gestational PHPT (2.1%). The common presenting manifestations were acute pancreatitis (50%) and renal stone disease (50%); two were asymptomatic. Five women (62.5%) had a history of prior miscarriages. Seven patients (88%) had preeclampsia during the present gestation. Serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were not statistically different from the age-matched non-pregnant PHPT group. Six patients with mild-to-moderate hypercalcemia were medically managed with hydration with/without cinacalcet while one patient underwent percutaneous ethanol ablation of the parathyroid adenoma; none underwent surgery during pregnancy. Mean serum calcium maintained from treatment initiation till delivery was 10.5 ± 0.4 mg/dl. One patient had spontaneous preterm delivery at 36 weeks; the remaining patients had normal vaginal delivery at term. None had severe preeclampsia/eclampsia. Fetal outcomes included low birth weight in three newborns (37.5%); two of them had hypocalcemic seizures.

The prevalence of gestational PHPT was 2.1% in this largest Indian PHPT cohort, which is higher than that reported from the West (< 1%). Gestational PHPT can lead to preeclampsia and miscarriage. Pregnant PHPT patients with mild-to-moderate hypercalcemia can be managed with hydration/cinacalcet; however, long-term safety data and large-scale randomized controlled trials are required.