• Sibgha Aimon, Humera Naz Altaf, Sehrish Latif, Fareeha Farooqui, Sohaib Khan, and Mohammed Amir.
• Department of General Surgery, Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
• J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2024 Jul 1; 34 (7): 828831828-831.

ObjectiveTo determine the sensitivity and specificity of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels in predicting hypocalcaemia after thyroidectomy.Study DesignA descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of General Surgery, Shifa International Hospital and Shifa Foundation, Islamabad, from May 2021 to 2022.MethodologyThe sample size was calculated to be 205 with consecutive non-probability sampling. Serum iPTH levels and serum calcium levels were measured postoperatively at 6 hours and 24 hours and recorded in a proforma for analysis. After collection, the data were entered and analysed using SPSS version 24.0.ResultsAmong 205 patients, 157 (76.6%) were females and 48 (23.4%) were males. At 6 hours postoperatively, 121 (59%) patients had normal iPTH levels and 123 (60%) patients had normal serum calcium levels (p = 0.15). At 24-hour, 130 (63.4%) patients had normal iPTH levels and 92 (44.9%) patients had normal serum calcium levels (p = 0.001). Overall, 8 (3.9%) patients developed symptomatic hypocalcaemia (p = <0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of iPTH levels at ≤15 pg/ml were 100% and 70%, respectively, but at 24 pg/ml cut-off level, the specificity increased to 90% with sensitivity of 100%.ConclusionLow serum iPTH levels at 6 hours after surgery can predict hypocalcaemia in patients undergoing thyroidectomy, even if serum calcium levels appear normal at that time.Key WordsParathyroid hormone, Serum calcium, Hypocalcaemia, Total thyroidectomy, Calcium homeostasis.

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