Primary hyperparathyroidism diagnosed at autopsy. A study of eight cases.

This paper describes the clinical and pathological findings of eight cases of primary hyperparathyroidism first diagnosed at autopsy. The eight cases were obtained from the autopsy files of the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh over a decade (1971-80). The duration of the final hospital admission was very short in the majority of cases but analysis of the clinical history, in which gastro-intestinal and neuro-psychiatric disturbances figured prominently, showed that symptoms of the disease may have been present for very much longer--perhaps years in some instances. Details of the main autopsy findings and cause of death are also presented.