{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T20:38:04Z","timestamp":1789763884520,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]],"date-time":"2021-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1632182400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia is a frequent complication with significant morbidity, and has been shown to increase hospital stay and readmission rates. The evaluation of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels after thyroidectomy represents a reliable method to predict post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia, but it remains infrequently used. This retrospective study investigates serum PTH values 3 h after thyroidectomy as a predictor of hypocalcemia. In this study, we enrolled 141 patients aged between 27 and 71 years eligible for total thyroidectomy who presented with multinodular goiter, suspicious nodule on cytological examination, Graves\u2019 disease, or toxic multinodular goiter. Three hours after total thyroidectomy, 53 patients (37.6%) showed a reduction in serum PTH. Of these patients 75.5% developed hypocalcemia by 24 h after surgery and 100% were hypocalcemic after 48 h (p &lt; 0.001). There was no significant difference attributable to the different thyroid diseases, nor to the age of the patients. PTH at 3 h after total thyroidectomy accurately predicts post-operative hypocalcemia. The early detection of patients at risk of developing post-operative hypocalcemia allows for prompt supplementation of calcium and Vitamin D in order to prevent symptoms and allows for a safe and timely discharge.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics11091733","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]],"date-time":"2021-09-21T08:04:23Z","timestamp":1632211463000},"page":"1733","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["PTH after Thyroidectomy as a Predictor of Post-Operative Hypocalcemia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3623-934X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessio","family":"Metere","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Department, Ospedale dei Castelli (O.D.C.), Via Nettunense Km 11,5, 00040 Ariccia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Biancucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Surgical Sciences Department, \u201cSapienza\u201d University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 261, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Natili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Department, Ospedale dei Castelli (O.D.C.), Via Nettunense Km 11,5, 00040 Ariccia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gianfrancesco","family":"Intini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Surgery Department, Anzio Hospital, Via Cupa dei Marmi snc, 00042 Anzio, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1974-2384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claire E.","family":"Graves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco 1600 Divisadero St. 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2002-31972","article-title":"Dysfunction of calcium metabolism following resection of the thyroid gland. 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