Pasieka Illness Questionnaire: its value in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Background: A prospective study was undertaken to assess the Pasieka Illness Questionnaire (PIQ) as a clinical evaluation and outcome tool in an Australian setting. The PIQ was specifically designed to assess the impact of surgery on the preoperative symptoms of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (1 degrees HPT).

Methods: Sixty of 71 consecutive patients referred with 1 degrees HPT completed the PIQ preoperatively and 3 months after parathyroid surgery. Fifty-four of the 60 patients filled in a 12-month follow-up questionnaire that included a quality of life (QOL) and a self-rated health uni-scale. Serum calcium, ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were obtained on each occasion.

Results: Eighty per cent of patients identified a significant decrease in symptoms following surgery. QOL and self-rated health improved after undergoing parathyroid surgery. Serum calcium levels returned to normal in 97% of patients 12 months after surgery.

Conclusions: The present study supports the use of the Pasieka Illness Questionnaire as a useful method to measure disease-specific symptoms in patients with 1 degrees HPT and is applicable to Australian patients. It also shows, once again, that parathyroid surgery produces a significant improvement in the preoperative symptoms of 1 degrees HPT.