Assessment of Radiology Modalities in Detecting and Diagnosing Parathyroid Disorders: A Retrospective Study

Shaimaa Alattas, Sara Alsaiari, Leen Albalbeesi, Saeed Bafaraj, Ahmed Abduljabbar, Shoaa Shetewi, Bander Al Mutairi, Haifa Alnahdi, Maryam Abuhathrah

 
For citation: Alattas S, Alsaiari S, Albalbeesi L, Bafaraj S, Abduljabbar A, Shetewi S, Al Mutairi B, Alnahdi H, Abuhathrah M. Assessment of Radiology Modalities in Detecting and Diagnosing Parathyroid Disorders: A Retrospective Study. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2025;15(2):364-370. doi:10.21103/Article15(2)_OA15
 
Originally published June 5, 2025
 

Abstract: 

Background: Parathyroid disorders can be part of a complex syndrome or endocrine disorder. Radiological models help diagnose parathyroid disorders. The current study aims to assess the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of radiology modalities in examining parathyroid disorders.  
Methods and Results: A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed using clinical data records (2012 to 2023) of patients complaining of parathyroid disorders at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia. Diagnoses were performed by SPECT, CT, ultrasound, and a bone mineral density (BMD) test. The study results displayed SPECT, CT, and BMD to attain the highest level of sensitivity, omitting unresponsive patients with low specificity. Previous literature reviews showed little or no correlation with most study findings. However, none of the previous studies included BMD as a beneficial radiological model in diagnosing parathyroid disorder.  
Conclusion: The unique and promising results obtained from the BMD model in this study suggest that future researchers should focus on applications of BMD to detect parathyroid disorder. This could lead to developing refined diagnostic protocols and treatment strategies, potentially improving patient outcomes. 

Keywords: 
parathyroid diseases • sensitivity • specificity • tomography
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Received January 22, 2025.
Accepted March 9, 2025.
©2025 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.