← Back to dossier
Patient handout

Hyperparathyroidism (primary, secondary, tertiary)

PRODUCTION

1. Your condition

This handout is for hyperparathyroidism (primary, secondary, tertiary). Your care team identified this based on: incidental hypercalcemia on routine labs (4th international workshop bilezikian jcem 2014).

Other reasons your team may use this plan: recurrent calcium-containing kidney stones (4th international workshop 2014 surgical criterion); fragility fracture or osteoporosis (4th international workshop 2014 t-score criterion); elevated pth in ckd — secondary hpt (kdigo 2017 ckd-mbd).

2. Your medications

Take these medications exactly as prescribed. Do not stop or change a dose without talking to your provider.

MedicationStarting doseHowWhenWhat it does
cinacalcet30 mg, titrate to 90 mg q6hPOdaily, titrate to BID/TIDReduces calcium; FDA-approved for non-surgical pHPT (AACE/ACE 2022; 4th International Workshop 2014 medical management)
alendronate70 mg weeklyPOweeklyImproves BMD; does not lower Ca substantially (Khan JCEM 2017; AACE/ACE 2022)
zoledronic_acid4 mg IV (5 mg for osteoporosis)IVq3–4 wks for hypercalcemia of malignancy; q1y for OPAggressive Ca lowering; ONJ risk (AACE/ACE 2022; NICE 2019)
denosumab60 mg q6m for OP; 120 mg q4w for hypercalcemia of malignancySCq6m or q4wAlternative to bisphosphonate; no renal limit; ONJ risk (AACE/ACE 2022)
cholecalciferol1000–2000 IU dailyPOdailyRepletion before surgery to optimise outcomes (Bilezikian JCEM 2014; AACE/ACE 2022)

Plan: Medical management of primary HPT

3. When to call your provider

Contact your care team if any of the following happen:

  • Crisis → ED (AACE/ACE 2022 crisis management)
  • Carcinoma suspected → surgery + neck imaging (AAES 2016; AACE/ACE 2022)

4. When to seek emergency care

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away if you have:

  • Ca >14 with AKI / AMS / arrhythmia(life-threatening)
  • pHPT meeting SBM 2014 / AAES 2016 surgical criteria
  • Ca >14, PTH >5× upper limit, palpable neck mass, RLN palsy
  • Postop Ca <8 with hypophosphatemia + low Mg
  • Persistent autonomous HPT after kidney transplant

5. Follow-up

Endo / surgery follow-up; family screen if MEN; bone health long-term (AACE/ACE 2022; 4th International Workshop 2014)

6. Sources

Guideline: SBM 2014 4th International Workshop Asymptomatic pHPT (Bilezikian); AAES 2016 surgical guideline; KDIGO 2017 CKD-MBD

  1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25162666
  2. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27532368
  3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30675420