POSTOPERATIVE HYPOCALCEMIA-THE DIFFERENCE A DEFINITION MAKES

Background. Review of the literature reveals considerable variability in the definitions and criteria used for reporting postoperative hypocalcemia. The lack of standardization prevents a meaningful comparison of results and performance locally with the national standard. It also prevents the pooling of data when performing meta-analysis, and may affect the comparison of research results. Methods. A literature review was performed to identify the different definitions used to define hypocalcemia in post-thyroidectomy patients. We analyzed the incidence of hypocalcemia in the same cohort of 202 post thyroidectomy patients using these definitions. Results. The reported hypocalcemia rates varied from 0% to 46% for the same cohort depending on the definition of hypocalcemia used. Only one-third of biochemically hypocalcemic patients requested calcium supplementation. Conclusion. This study demonstrates the need for more uniformity and standardization in the definitions used for reporting hypocalcemia rates. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 32: 279-283, 2010