Features of the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism in children

Background. Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a rare pathology in pediatric and adolescent patients. Collection, analysis and generalization of the literature data and experience of the leading clinics allow to develop unified, statistically substantiated approaches to diagnostics and surgical treatment of this group of patients.Material and methods. The article presents a retrospective analysis of 17 cases of PHPT in children and adolescents aged from 6 to 18 years operated on in the department of Surgery of St.-Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University in the period from 1973 till 2021. Among those operated there were 10 girls and 7 boys, the M:F ratio was 1:1.4. The mean age of the patients was 12,9±0,71 years.Results and discussion. The main criteria of the disease diagnosis were elevated blood calcium and parathormone levels, excessive urinary calcium secretion. Manifest forms of the disease were diagnosed in 10 (58,8%) of 17 children. In 3 (17,6%) cases the parathyroid neoplasms were accompanied neither by clinical, nor laboratory manifestations of the disease and were regarded as incidentalomas. Another 4 (23.5%) patients had only laboratory changes (hypercalcemia and hyperparathyrinaemia) that manifested themselves preoperatively. These observations were referred to the asymptomatic form of PHPT.In 7 (41.2%) cases parathyroid adenomas were found and removed during surgeries for various thyroid diseases (thyroid cancer in 5 cases, diffuse toxic goiter in 1 case). An incidental finding of parathyroid adenoma was during prophylactic thyroidectomy for Sipple syndrome.A radioisotope method proved to be the most informative way to localize parathyroid tumors.Conclusion. The diagnosis of the disease in manifest sporadic cases does not differ from that in adults. Genetic study is indicated in the presence of a family history of multiple involvement of the parathyroid glands. Surgical treatment with removal of parathyroid tumor is the main method, which allows to achieve complete recovery.