Clinical ScienceThe changing pattern of diagnosing primary hyperparathyroidism in young patients

- Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is commonly found in adults after routine calcium checks.
- PHPT is rarely reported in younger patients.
- Over time, younger patients are increasingly incidentally diagnosed with PHPT.
- This trend may be attributed to more liberal use of serum labs in young patients.

BackgroundPrimary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is increasing in adults but rarely reported in young patients where routine blood work is obtained more judiciously. We aim to determine how PHPT is currently being diagnosed in young patients and examine surgical outcomes.MethodWe retrospectively analyzed PHPT patients 24 years of age or less who underwent parathyroidectomy from 2001 to 2014. Patients were divided into 2 time periods: 2001 to 2007 (A) and 2008 to 2014 (B). Incidentally, diagnosed patients lacked objective symptoms of PHPT and had no family history.ResultsForty young patients met inclusion criteria: 16 in group A and 24 in group B. Those in group A compared with group B had similar mean age, preoperative calcium, and parathyroid hormone (P > .05). Incidental diagnosis was more common in the contemporary group (42% vs 25%, P = .001).ConclusionsCurrent diagnosis of PHPT in young patients is increasingly incidental. This trend may be attributed to the more liberal use of labs in younger patients.