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Clinical Presentation of Hypoparathyroidism

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Hypoparathyroidism

Abstract

Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disorder that most commonly presents early after thyroid, parathyroid, or laryngeal surgery. The disorder can also present months and even years after the causative surgical procedure. Therefore, the astute clinician must be aware of the past surgical history in any patient who presents with reduced serum calcium levels and inappropriately normal or frankly low PTH levels with or without clinical manifestations of hypocalcemia. Variations in the severity of the abnormal mineral balance account, at least in part, for the nature and extent of the clinical presentation. Mildly low serum calcium may go undetected for years and produce little to no clinical complaints. Severely low and rapid falls in serum calcium tend to present with neuromuscular, sensory, and central nervous system complaints and need to be diagnosed and treated rapidly. The clinician should look for any of the many signs and symptoms of nonsurgical forms of hypoparathyroidism when the biochemical diagnosis is clear, but there is no history of prior procedure. To make the correct diagnosis, careful family history and possibly family screening are needed, as well as a thorough physical examination and assessment. In many cases, genetic testing will be needed to come to a definitive diagnosis.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Amber L. Wheeler MD & Dolores M. Shoback MD

  2. San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Metabolism and Endocrinology Section, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Amber L. Wheeler MD & Dolores M. Shoback MD

  3. San Francisco Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Endocrine Research Unit, 4150 Clement Street, 111 N, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA

    Dolores M. Shoback MD

Authors
  1. Amber L. Wheeler MD
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  2. Dolores M. Shoback MD
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Correspondence to Dolores M. Shoback MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Metabolic and Bone Diseases, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Maria Luisa Brandi

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension, Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Edward Meigs Brown

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Wheeler, A.L., Shoback, D.M. (2015). Clinical Presentation of Hypoparathyroidism. In: Brandi, M., Brown, E. (eds) Hypoparathyroidism. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5376-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5376-2_15

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