ESPE Abstracts

Background: Dysfunction of the parathyroid gland is a rare cause of hypocalcaemia. It may be caused by a deficiency or resistance to PTH. Generally symptomatic It can be hereditary, congenital or acquired.

Objective and hypotheses: Analysis of clinical, paraclinical, etiological and progressive children’s and adolescents hypocalcaemia by parathyroid dysfunction.

Method: This is a retrospective study of hypocalcaemia by parathyroid dysfunction observations in children and adolescents from 1980 to 2015. All patients underwent a complete physical examination, laboratory tests (phosphocacique, PTH), morphological explorations (cervical and kidney ultrasound), ophthalmologic examination, cardiovascular assessment (ECG and heart Doppler), and cerebral CT. Exploration was completed based on the patient context.

Results: Twelve children (ten boys and two girls) are listed. Diagnostic average age: 5 years (2–14). The discovery of circumstances convulsions (four cases), growth retardation (four cases), systematic research (three cases), and cataract (one case). Clinical presentation was symptomatic in all cases (muscle spasms, tingling, cramps and tetany, defective enamel, and lack of dental development). The assessment of complications found a cataract (n=2) and calcifications of the basal ganglia (n=3), intracranial hypertension (n=1). In 25% of cases, hypoparathyroidism is family. The mean serum calcium is 65 mg/l (60–70). The aetiologies found were: idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (three cases), postoperative hypoparathyroidism (three cases), a polyglandular autoimmune type I (three cases), DiGeorge syndrome (one case), and a pseudo hypoparathyroidism (two cases). Treatment with an alpha and calcium has improved symptoms in all cases.

Conclusion: The Hypocalcaemia by parathyroid dysfunction is a rare disease in children. it may be due to varying etiologies. It is characterized by a symptom picture which can be grafted life-threatening. Its diagnosis and its treatment should be early and effective.