title: [Clinical characteristics of 47 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism surgically treated].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The primary hyperparathyroidism is usually an asymptomatic disease. Actually, specialists are attempting to consider to what extent it can be necessary to undergo surgery in this disease. In this article, we are going to describe the clinical and biochemical characteristics of our patients with primary hyperparathyroidism as well as the diagnostic procedures and the results after operation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Firstly, we have analysed 47 records of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and intervened in our hospital during the last 5 years. Secondly, we assessed the biochemical results before and after the surgical intervention, the outcome of parathyroid echography, thoracico-cervical tomography, technietium-99-mm-sestamibi gammagraphy and bone densitometry. Finally, we followed up the assessment of the operation of the patients with hyperparathyroidism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  47 patients were intervened of hyperparathyroidism. 89.4% were women and average the age was 61.4 +/- 12.8 years. Most of them were asymptomatic (45.7%). The gammagraphy was the procedure with best sensibility and specificity, 75 and 100%. Bone densitometry showed that there were no patients with diminished calcification of the bones. The principal diagnostic of pathologic anatomy was adenoma (85.1%). Excluding one single case, the rest of patients healed of their illness after intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primary hyperparathyroidism is asymptomatic in most of the cases. It is mainly an adenoma process. The best diagnostic procedure is technietium-99-mm-sestamibi gammagraphy. The most appropriate and successful treatment is surgery.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mediavilla García
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López de la Torre Casares
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hidalgo Tenorio
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perán Mesa
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: León Ruiz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aliaga Martínez
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pinel Julián
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006961:Hyperparathyroidism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged