Occult thyroiditis as a risk factor for postoperative hypocalcemia in thyroid surgery

Introduction: Postoperative hypocalcemia is the most incident complication in thyroid surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of occult thyroiditis as a risk factor for postoperative hypocalcaemia in patients submitted to total thyroidectomy. Materials and methods: The study was conduced over 118 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for thyroid disease other than thyroiditis. The patients were divided in two groups; those without thyroiditis (group A, 65 patients) and those with occult thyroiditis discovered after histopathological examination of the specimen (group B, 53 patients). Results: The mean value of calcaemia in the first postoperative day was 8.1 mg/dL in group A and 8.2 mg/dL in group B. Biochemical hypocalcaemia was detected in 25 patients in group A and 20 in group B. Differences between groups A and B were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our data suggest that occult thyroiditis does not influence the incidence of postoperative hypocalcaemia in patients who underwent total thyroidectomy. Further prospective randomized studies are necessary to confirm these findings.