Practical check-up guide
Parathyroid Hormone in China Check-up Lists: PTH Is Not TSH
By MyChinaCheckup coordination team · Published
Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) are different measurements. The thyroid/parathyroid wording and shared “hormone” label do not make them interchangeable. A calcium result or thyroid-ultrasound entry is different again.
Only two of the 78 Shanghai and Guangzhou package tables checked on 13 October 2026 explicitly name a PTH test: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Men 02 and Women 03. Both also name a thyroid panel and an unspecified electrolyte panel. That combination offers a practical example of why the entries must stay separate.
Four names that answer different questions
PTH is produced by the parathyroid glands and helps regulate calcium in the blood. A PTH test measures the hormone, while a calcium blood test measures the mineral. Clinicians interpret PTH with other information, particularly calcium results; this relationship does not make the measurements equivalent or establish a package inclusion. MedlinePlus: PTH test.
TSH is produced by the pituitary gland and signals the thyroid to make thyroid hormones. A TSH blood test measures that signalling hormone. It is not an alternative spelling of PTH. MedlinePlus: TSH test.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Entry being checked | Kind of information named | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| PTH / parathyroid hormone | A hormone measurement | TSH, calcium or a scan is not confirmed by this label |
| TSH / thyroid-stimulating hormone | A different hormone measurement | It does not identify a PTH measurement |
| Calcium | A mineral measurement | It does not measure the amount of PTH |
| Thyroid or parathyroid ultrasound | An imaging examination with named anatomy | It does not document a blood-hormone result |
The imaging distinction follows NIDDK’s thyroid-test overview, which separates imaging from blood testing. The table is a naming aid, not a recommendation to book all four categories.
The two PTH-containing lists, read across the whole package
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| Package source | PTH wording | Separate thyroid-panel wording | Electrolyte wording | Separate imaging wording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Yat-sen Memorial Men 02 | Parathyroid hormone (PTH) | Listed panel: TSH, T3, T4, FT4, FT3 | Electrolyte panel | Ultrasound: thyroid |
| Sun Yat-sen Memorial Women 03 | Parathyroid hormone (PTH) | Listed panel: TSH, T3, T4, FT4, FT3 | Electrolyte panel | Ultrasound: thyroid |
The thyroid-panel title expressly names TSH, T3, T4, FT4 and FT3. Its details column adds a generic note that sub-indicators are not fully specified. Preserve the printed names and seek the final specification; do not erase the names because of the note or invent additional hormones from it. PTH has its own row in each of these two lists.
The electrolyte row is different: it says only “Electrolyte panel”, with no component names. Neither page supplies an explicitly named calcium item in the reviewed table. Calcium inclusion therefore remains unresolved, even though clinicians often consider calcium when interpreting PTH. Clinical context cannot fill an undocumented commercial component.
The same hospital provides a useful counterexample
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Men 01, Women 01 expressly names “Electrolyte panel (phosphorus, calcium, chloride, sodium, potassium, magnesium)”. Neither of those two tables separately names PTH. The six mineral names are observable in the title despite the generic panel note.
This creates two different documentation states:
- Men 02 / Women 03: PTH explicitly named; calcium not individually identified in the electrolyte panel.
- Men 01 / Women 01: calcium explicitly named in the panel title; PTH not separately named.
These observations do not establish clinical exclusions or rank the packages. They show why a PTH row must not be used as a shortcut for calcium inclusion, or vice versa. The electrolyte-component guide examines the mineral-panel problem in more detail.
Does “parathyroid” inside an ultrasound label count as PTH?
No. Renji East Men 02, Men 03, Women 02, Women 03 lists “Ultrasound: thyroid, parathyroid and cervical lymph nodes”. The original Chinese row, 甲状腺、甲状旁腺及颈部淋巴结B超, is likewise an ultrasound entry. Those tables separately name TSH, but none separately names a PTH measurement.
The anatomical word parathyroid identifies part of the scan's stated scope. It does not document a hormone assay. Keep the imaging row intact when matching an imaging request, and look for a separate laboratory order when matching PTH.
Four precise questions for a PTH request
- Does the accepted laboratory order explicitly name PTH, and how will the assay be named on the report?
- What specimen and method does the laboratory require? The catalogue's unqualified PTH wording should not be expanded into a particular assay specification.
- If the clinician's existing request includes other named measurements, where is each documented? Leave calcium or other unnamed components pending rather than assuming an electrolyte heading includes them.
- Who will provide preparation instructions and interpret the results in the clinical context? A thyroid-ultrasound appointment does not itself confirm either service for a PTH result.
These questions reconcile an existing request. They do not recommend a combined panel, diagnose an endocrine condition or suggest calcium treatment. A bone-density result is also outside the scope of this hormone-name comparison; use the bone-density method guide for that separate examination.
Evidence and limits
The complete public HTML package tables and the linked primary clinical explanations were checked on 13 October 2026. The audit identified two named PTH-test rows and kept the four parathyroid-ultrasound rows separate. “Not separately named” describes the inspected catalogue, not confirmed exclusion or a hospital's complete service inventory.
These are MyChinaCheckup operator listings, not independent verification of current hospital availability or a prescribed medical plan. Use Guangzhou planning to ask for a written specification. The selected provider determines the appropriate examinations, preparation and clinical review; an enquiry does not reserve an appointment.