Nanocarbon tracer applied to explore the relationship between the number of exposed parathyroid glands and parathyroid function

Abstract

After nanocarbon tracer was applied to thyroidectomy, we aimed to investigate the risk factors of hypoparathyroidism and the relationship between the number of exposed parathyroid glands and parathyroid function. This study retrospectively collected clinical data of patients who underwent thyroidectomy at Haining People’s Hospital from January 2019 to December 2022. Levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and blood calcium were observed before surgery, 1 day after surgery, and one month after surgery to assess the occurrence of postoperative parathyroid hypofunction. Patients were grouped based on their postoperative PTH levels. Furthermore, basic patient data and surgical data were collected to analyze the risk factors associated with hypoparathyroidism after thyroidectomy using single factor analysis. ANOVA analysis was used to compare the correlation between intraoperative parathyroid exposure and postoperative PTH and blood calcium levels. This study involved 80 patients. On the first day after surgery, the serum PTH and blood calcium levels of patients decreased, and 59 patients (73.75%) had normal serum PTH level after surgery, which was the normal group. Twenty-one patients (26.25%) developed hypoparathyroidism after operation and were divided into hypoparathyroidism group. Single factor analysis showed that the main risk factors of postoperative hypoparathyroidism were lesion location, lymph node dissection, nano carbon, number of lymph node metastasis, intraoperative parathyroid exposure, and inaccurate parathyroidectomy. ANOVA analysis showed that the more parathyroid exposure during operation was accompanied by the more decrease of serum PTH and blood calcium levels after operation. Therefore, the location of thyroid lesions, lymph node dissection, nano-carbon, number of lymph node metastases, intraoperative parathyroid exposure, and parathyroidectomy are risk factors for transient hypoparathyroidism after thyroid surgery. Moreover, intraoperative parathyroid exposure significantly affected serum PTH and blood calcium levels. Performing more accurate thyroidectomy and reducing parathyroid exposure help reduce the occurrence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia.