Today, I review, link to, and excerpt from Hypercalcemia: etiology and management. [PubMed Abstract] [Full-Text HTML] [Full-Text PDF]. Amanda DeMauro Renaghan, Mitchell H Rosner. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, Volume 33, Issue 4, April 2018, Pages 549–551, https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfy054
All that follows is from the above resource.
INTRODUCTION
Hypercalcemia (defined as a serum calcium level >10.5 mg/dL or 2.5 mmol/L) is an important clinical problem [1]. Among the causes of hypercalcemia, primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and malignancy are most common, accounting for 80–90% of cases. PHPT is the major cause of hypercalcemia in the ambulatory population, comprising up to 60% of cases, while malignancy represents the leading cause in hospitalized patients (54–65%) [2]. Hypercalcemia may occur in up to 30% of patients with cancer and portends a worse prognosis [3].
The clinical presentation of hypercalcemia is influenced by the rapidity of onset as well as severity. Symptoms are nonspecific and include fatigue, weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bone pain, polyuria and confusion, as well as coma in severe cases. Hypercalcemia may cause cardiac arrhythmias, renal vasoconstriction, volume depletion with acute kidney injury (AKI) and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) [1, 4].
ETIOLOGIES AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
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