Tabriz, Iran: Transient hypocalcemia due to parathyroid gland or vessel manipulation is a common complication following thyroidectomy.
Researchers have found in a new study that Preoperative vitamin D supplementation in patients with vitamin D deficiency undergoing thyroidectomy reduces hypocalcemia risk.This might lessen the requirement of calcium supplementation for hypocalcemia management after the surgery.
Thestudy has been published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
Hypocalcemia, low levels of calcium in the blood, is a complication from thyroid surgery that is treated easily with calcium pills. If not treated, low calcium may lead to cramping or muscle twitching, if severe can cause heart problems and/or seizures. Considering the role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in calcium hemostasis, Seyed Ziaeddin Rasihashemi, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, and colleagues evaluated the effect of preoperative vitamin D supplementation on hypocalcemia incidence in thyroidectomy patients.
The randomized clinical trial enrolled 100 patients scheduled for total thyroidectomy and suffering from preoperative moderate or severe vitamin D deficiency. Using the sealed envelope method, patients were randomly allocated to either study or control groups.
Patients in the study group received vitamin D3 50,000-unit pearl weekly for 4 weeks prior to the operation. The control group received a placebo. Total and ionized serum calcium levels were checked before surgery, the day after surgery, and 2 weeks postoperatively.
Key findings of the study include:
No significant difference was observed in terms of demographic data.
During serial total calcium checks (5 episodes), total calcium levels changed significantly in patients who had received vitamin D supplements compared to the control group.
Symptomatic hypocalcemia incidence was significantly lower in patients supplemented with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D).
The requirement for intravenous calcium administration in order to treat the hypocalcemia symptoms was significantly lower in the study in comparison to the control group.
"Vitamin D supplementation vitamin D deficiency patients might lead to a lower incidence of early-onset symptomatic hypocalcemia; hence, requiring less calcium supplementation for hypocalcemia management," concluded the authors.
The study, "Preoperative Vitamin D Supplementation in Patients With Vitamin D Deficiency Undergoing Total Thyroidectomy," is published in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
DOI: https://www.amjmedsci.org/article/S0002-9629(20)30169-5/fulltext