Abstract
Utilizing a network of national hospitals, we investigated whether the (Cl-90)/P ratio, which is readily determined at any hospital, is a useful tool for screening primary hyperparathyroidism. First, the incidence of primary hyperparathyroidism was determined. The serum high sensitive parathyroid hormone (HS-PTH) levels were measured in all patients with hypercalcemia during three months (mid-October 1989 to mid-January 1990) at each of four national hospitals. Second, patients were screened for primary hyperparathyroidism using the (Cl-90)/P ratio for another three months (mid-October 1990 to mid-January 1991) at each of six national hospitals, including the original four. The average number of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism screened with the (Cl-90) /P ratio was 2.5, which was the same as the incidence found during the first three-month period. In addition, with this ratio, the number of patients requiring further examination was restricted to 22% of all patients with hypercalcemia. These results suggested that the (Cl-90)/P ratio is a simple, cost-effective and clinically useful method of screening patients for primary hyperparathyroidism.
