Hypocalcemia following total and subtotal thyroidectomy and associated factors

Thyroidectomy is one of the common endocrinological surgeries for the treatment of thyroid disorders. Hypocalcemia is the potential complication after thyroidectomy, where is persistency can lead to serious systemic effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of hypocalcemia in thyroidectomy patients.

In this cross-sectional study, patients referred to (XXX) for thyroidectomy from 2019 to 2020 were enrolled. Preoperative serum calcium and postoperative 24- and 48-h calcium levels were evaluated in these patients. Demographic data (sex and gender), calcium levels, type of thyroidectomy and duration of surgery was recorded for all the patients. SPSS v22 was used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Of 143 patients included in the study, the mean age was 49.7 ± 10.9 years and 61.5% were females and 38.5% were males. 49% patients had hypocalcemia in the first 24 hours after surgery and 63.6% following 48 hours of the surgery. The difference in calcium levels at three intervals were statistically significant, p = 0.001. The incidence of hypocalcemia was significantly more in women at 48 postoperative hours, p = 0.025. The age and duration of surgery was not significantly correlated with hypocalcemia, p > 0.05, whereas, patients who underwent total thyroidectomy had greater incidence of hypocalcemia 24 hours after the surgery, p = 0.021.

The incidence of hypocalcemia is greater in total thyroidectomy and female patients. Our study did not report significant correlation between duration of the surgery and age of the patients.