Predicting hypocalcaemia post-thyroidectomy: a retrospective audit of results compared to a previously published nomogram in 64 patients treated at a district general hospital

With the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer,1 total thyroidectomy and completion thyroidectomy are increasingly common in the NHS. Hypocalcaemia is an important complication of these procedures. The reported UK national incidence is 27% for total thyroidectomy and 29% for completion thyroidectomy.2 Predicting individualised patient risk would allow departments to focus resources on high‐risk patients, whilst considering low‐risk patients for early discharge.
Ali et al.3 described a nomogram to quantify patients' individualised risk of hypocalcaemia based on patient characteristics: age, gender, past medical and medication history, and preoperative investigations: calcium, alkaline phosphatase and creatinine levels. The nomogram achieved a 68% predictive accuracy in a US tertiary centre (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York), but has not been tested in a UK population.
This study aims to report the rates of hypocalcaemia in a UK district general hospital and assess the clinical utility of the predictive nomogram in this population.