Postoperative clinical findings and outcomes
| n | VDD (≤20 ng/mL) (n=496) Mean (95% CI) or n (%) | n | Non-VDD (>20 ng/mL) (n=488) Mean (95% CI) or n (%) | P value | |
| Total calcium (mg/dL) | 247 | 8.1 (8.0 to 8.2) | 421 | 8.4 (8.3 to 8.5) | <0.01 |
| Within 48 hours of surgery | 115 | 8.0 (7.8 to 8.2) | 192 | 8.3 (8.2 to 8.4) | <0.01 |
| After 48 hours of surgery | 132 | 8.0 (7.8 to 8.2) | 229 | 8.3 (8.2 to 8.4) | <0.01 |
| Corrected calcium (mg/dL) | 186 | 8.3 (8.2 to 8.4) | 319 | 8.5 (8.4 to 8.6) | 0.04 |
| Within 48 hours of surgery | 73 | 8.0 (7.8 to 8.3) | 115 | 8.2 (8.1 to 8.3) | 0.20 |
| After 48 hours of surgery | 113 | 8.3 (8.1 to 8.5) | 204 | 8.5 (8.4 to 8.6) | 0.06 |
| Ionized calcium (mmol/L) | 115 | 1.1 (1.1 to 1.1) | 170 | 1.1 (1.1 to 1.2) | 0.11 |
| Phosphorus (mg/dL) | 165 | 3.3 (3.1 to 3.4) | 230 | 3.4 (3.3 to 3.5) | 0.15 |
| PTH (pg/mL) | 169 | 35.0 (30.3 to 41.0) | 308 | 30.6 (27.5 to 34.3) | 0.10* |
| Magnesium (mg/dL) | 144 | 1.7 (1.6 to 1.7) | 207 | 1.8 (1.7 to 1.8) | <0.01 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 151 | 0.7 (0.7 to 0.8) | 297 | 0.8 (0.8 to 0.8) | 0.01 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 327 | 3.8 (3.7 to 3.9) | 338 | 3.8 (3.7 to 3.8) | 0.69 |
| Length of stay, hours | 270 | 35.6 (31.7 to 40.2) | 232 | 30.3 (26.8 to 34.6) | 0.03* |
| Same-day discharge | 232 (47.5) | 270 (54.4) | 0.03 | ||
| Intravenous calcium therapy | 4 (0.8) | 6 (1.2) | 0.54 | ||
| Calcium and/or vitamin D supplement on discharge | 214 (43.2) | 264 (54.1) | <0.01 |
χ2 test for categorical variables, ANOVA for normally distributed variables and likelihood ratio test for exponentially distributed variables.
*Likelihood ratio test.
ANOVA, analysis of variance; PTH, parathyroid hormone; VDD, vitamin D deficiency.