Elsevier

Surgery

Volume 137, Issue 4, April 2005, Pages 426-430
Surgery

Original communication
Sleep disturbances before and after parathyroidectomy for secondary hyperparathyroidism

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2004.12.010Get rights and content

Background

The prevalence of insomnia in patients with symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism and the improvements of sleep disturbances after parathyroidectomy have not been previously reported.

Methods

Thirty-one patients who had undergone successful total parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation for symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism were enrolled in the study. The symptoms of skin itching, bone pain, and general weakness were recorded. Preoperatively, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (Alk-ptase), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), am melatonin (noon), and pm melatonin (midnight) were measured in association with a simple yes/no questionnaire of 5 items about sleep disturbances as described previously. The severity of insomnia was the sum of positive items of sleeping disturbances. The sleep hours per night and the habit of taking sleeping pills were also recorded. One week after surgery, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase, iPTH, am melatonin, and pm melatonin were measured again. Three months after surgery, symptoms of skin itching, bone pain, and general weakness were recorded, and serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase and iPTH were measured in association with a yes/no questionnaire of sleep disturbances. The severity of insomnia, sleep hours per night, and the habit of taking sleeping pills were recorded again.

Results

One week after parathyroidectomy, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, and iPTH decreased significantly; serum levels of Alk-ptase and am melatonin increased significantly; serum levels of pm melatonin did not change significantly. Three months after parathyroidectomy, symptoms of skin itching, bone pain, and general weakness decreased significantly; serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase, and iPTH decreased significantly; sleeping disturbances and severity of insomnia improved significantly in association with longer sleep hours per night. A significant reduction of the habit of taking sleeping pills was also noted. Preoperatively, the severity of insomnia was correlated with skin itching, general weakness, and levels of iPTH. Postoperatively, the severity of insomnia was correlated with skin itching, general weakness, and bone pain.

Conclusions

Preoperatively, a high prevalence of sleep disturbances (97%) was found in patients with symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism. We conclude that nocturnal melatonin levels do not change after parathyroidectomy; the improvements in sleep disturbance and the decreases in severity of insomnia are found 3 months after surgery in association with longer sleep hours per night. Decreases of symptoms such as skin itching, bone pain, and general weakness may be the reasons for the improvement in sleep and the decrease in insomnia.

Section snippets

Subjects and methods

From February 2003 to September 2003, 31 patients who had undergone a successful total parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation for symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism were enrolled in this study. Their ages ranged from 28 to 61 years, with an average of 49.8 ± 11.9 years (mean ± SD). The participants comprised 25 men and 6 women. The etiologies of renal failure were chronic nephritis in 8 patients, nephrotoxic drugs in 5, diabetes mellitus in 1, and unknown causes in 17. The indications

Results

The main symptoms of secondary hyperparathyroidism before surgery were bone pain in 28 patients, skin itching in 22, general weakness in 20, and sleep disturbances in 30. Significant improvements of the above symptoms were noted 3 months after surgery, and only 7 patients complained of sleep disturbances at that time (P < .001; Table I).

Before surgery, serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, Alk-ptase, and iPTH were 10.88 ± 0.92 mg/dL, 6.06 ± 1.66 mg/dL, 295 ± 287 u/L, and 1542 ± 1083 pg/mL,

Discussion

Sleep disturbances are common in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis. More recently, a high prevalence of subjective sleep complaints has been documented, with problems reported by more than 50% to 80% of patients surveyed.2, 7, 8, 9 However, in the literature, the situation of sleep disturbances has not been reported in symptomatic secondary hyperparathyroidism either before or after parathyroidectomy. In this study, we found that almost all patients with symptomatic secondary

References (16)

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