The effectiveness of parathyroid gland autotransplantation in preserving parathyroid function during thyroid surgery for thyroid neoplasms: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

ObjectiveWe conducted this meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of parathyroid gland autotransplantation in preserving parathyroid function during thyroid surgery for thyroid neoplasms.MethodsWe conducted a search by using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library electronic databases for studies that were published up to January 2019. The reference lists of the retrieved articles were also reviewed. Two authors independently assessed the methodological quality and extracted the data. A random-effects model was used to calculate the overall combined risk estimates. Publication bias was evaluated with a funnel plot using Egger's and Begg's tests.ResultsA total of 25 independent studies involving 10,531 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with patients who did not undergo parathyroid gland autotransplantation, the overall pooled relative risks for patients who underwent parathyroid gland autotransplantation were 1.75 (95% CI: 1.51-2.02, pConclusionsParathyroid gland autotransplantation is significantly associated with increased risk of postoperative and protracted hypoparathyroidism, and the number of autoplastic parathyroid glands is positively correlated with the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism.