Last June, I wrote about my parathyroid surgery and how the crucial diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism can be missed.

The parathyroid glands are four small glands located behind the thyroid in the neck whose sole function is to control the amount of calcium in our bodies within a tight blood range of about 8.5-10.5 mg/dL, depending on a particular laboratory’s values.

If one or more of these small parathyroid glands starts growing (called an adenoma and rarely cancerous), this causes the parathyroid to release too much parathyroid hormone which causes abnormally high calcium in the bloodstream. This can cause serious health problems such as cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis (bone loss which can lead to fractures), depression and even premature death.

The surgery involved is now a minimally invasive procedure and, in my case, I was able to go home the same day after an early morning surgery.

Many symptoms of primary hyperparathyroidism can be unnoticed, mild or confused with other conditions like normal aging. The diagnosis is confirmed by a high amount of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia) along with a high level of PTH (parathyroid hormone).

In my case, I asked for a PTH blood test when my calcium level rose and I researched all the causes of high blood calcium. I realized then that I had some mild symptoms of primary hyperparathyroidism that I attributed to other causes.  After my operation, my symptoms went away.

Now a study just came out July, 2017 in the medical journal Annals of Surgery titled “Failure to Diagnose Hyperparathyroidism in 10,432 Patients with Hypercalcemia: Opportunities for System-level Intervention to Increase Surgical Referrals and Cure”

that concludes:

“A significant proportion of patients with hyperparathyroidism do not undergo appropriate evaluation and surgical referral. System-level interventions which prompt further evaluation of hypercalcemia and raise physician awareness about hyperparathyroidism could improve outcomes and produce long-term cost savings.” (Emphasis added)

The study involved over 10,000 patients with blood calcium levels above the normal upper limit of 10.5 mg/dl and found that only 31% had a workup including a PTH level and of those patients with a high PTH level, only 22% were referred to a surgeon.

CONCLUSION

In my previous blog, I wrote that that the previous criteria for parathyroid surgery included a calcium level of  above 11.5 mg/dl but that my surgeon told me that the criteria may be changing to an even lower level. This new study may change that criteria.

Calcium levels are usually checked in annual exams including blood work. I would recommend that if your calcium level is above the normal high, you ask your doctor if further testing like a PTH blood test is warranted and especially if you notice any signs or symptoms of hyperparathyroidism.

Primary hyperparathyroidism has long been considered a relatively rare condition with 100,000 people diagnosed annually in the U.S.  but, according to this study, it might not actually be so rare.

The good news is that it can be treated.