A Patient Has Returned to the Floor After Having a Thyroidectomy

Multiple Choice

A patient has returned to the floor after having a thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer. The nurse knows that sometimes during thyroid surgery the parathyroid glands can be injured or removed. What laboratory finding may be an early indication of parathyroid gland injury or removal?

A) Hyponatremia
B) Hypophosphatemia
C) Hypocalcemia
D) Hypokalemia