Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2019 , Vol 65 , Num 2

Alternative treatment of resistant hypoparathyroidism by intermittent infusion of teriparatide using an insulin pump: A case report

Zafer Pekkolay 1 ,Faruk Kılınç 2 ,Hikmet Soylu 1 ,Belma Balsak 1 ,Mehmet Güven 1 ,Şadiye Altun Tuzcu 3 ,Ali Veysel Kara 1 ,Alpaslan Kemal Tuzcu 1
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Dicle University School of Medicine, Diyarbakır, Turkey
2 Department of Adult Endocrinology, Fırat University School of Medicine, Elazığ, Turkey
3 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, Diyarbakır, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2019.2718 Hypoparathyroidism usually responds to oral active vitamin D and calcium, but, although rare, some patients do not respond to this treatment. A 47-year-old Caucasian female presented to our medical unit with classical oral treatment-resistant hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy. Teriparatide was infused through the insulin pump with dosage set to 1 unit which equals to 2.5 μg of teriparatide. In conclusion, intermittent subcutaneous infusion of teriparatide using an insulin pump is a safe and effective treatment modality to ensure normocalcemic conditions in patients with classical treatment-resistant hypoparathyroidism. Keywords : Hypoparathyroidism; pump infusion; teriparatide