Computed Tomography for Localization of Parathyroid Adenomas

Abstract

Fourteen consecutive patients with the clinical diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism had computed tomography (CT) preoperatively to evaluate the use of CT in localizing parathyroid adenomas. The patients were scanned from above the level of the thyroid cartilage to the bifurcation of the trachea. CT correctly identified, prospectively, the site of the adenoma in 7 of 14 patients, including 1 adenoma that was ectopic in location. Nine of these patients also had barium esophagrams and this study was accurate in only 3 of the 9. CT may be beneficial in the preoperative localization of parathyroid adenomas, particularly those in ectopic locations.