Clinical analysis of 18 cases of pseudohypoparathyroidism / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of pseudohypoparathyroidism ( PHP ) inpatients in our hospital from January 2008 to December 2017 and to gain a better understanding of this disorder. Methods 18 inpatients diagnosed as sporadic PHP in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively, as regarding the clinical manifestation, laboratory examination and imaging data. Results 18 inpatients were diagnosed sporadic PHP consisting of 12 males and 6 females, with 13 adults and 5 child participants respectively. The medium age of onset was 14 (6-57), and the average age at diagnosis was (24.9± 14.7) years old. Initial onset of symptoms reported were 12 patients complained of tetany, 3 reported convulsions, 1 reported numbness, 1 reported dysnoesia, and 1 were asymptomatic. Among them 3 patients were found to have short distal phalanx, 7 displayed a round face, and 3 out of 15 adults were less than 155 cm in height. 12 patients had a positive Trousseau sign, 1 had an ectopic calcification. 11 were found to have intercranial massive calcifications by head computed tomography. Serum calcium was reported at (1.58 ± 0.11) mmol/ L and parathyroid hormone was (359.5 ± 146.6) pg/ ml. 3 patients were discovered to have hypothyroidism, 2 had been misdiagnosed with epilepsy, and 1 with encephalitis. Conclusions Tetany and intracranial calcifications were the most common signs of PHP patients. A number of the PHP cases in this study lacked typical Albright's Hereditary Osteodystrophy ( AHO) appearance. The age of onset and or duration of the disease varied somewhat in the different patient populations. The heterogeneity nature of the clinical manifestations of PHP makes it difficult to diagnose. It is therefore important to make accurate differential diagnosis of PHP to avoid misdiagnosis of the condition.