Differential diagnosing of hypercalcemias

Overview

Primary hyperparathyreosis and tumour diseases are the two most frequent causes of hypercalcaemia. Surgical removal of parathyroid adenoma is the permanent solution for hypercalcaemia. Hypercalcaemia may occur in 20–30 % of patients with cancer in the course of the disease. It causes progressive deterioration of the overall condition of the patient which culminates in a coma-like state with renal failure and means a bad prognosis for the affected person. Evaluation of clinical condition and obtaining the immunoreactive parathormone level data are of extreme importance for correct diagnosis. Normal or even low parathormone levels almost surely exclude primary hyperparathyreosis as the source of hypercalcaemia. Additional, less frequent causes of hypercalcaemia should also be taken into consideration, such as diseases caused by the granulomatose tissue, familial benign hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia, drug provoked hypercalcaemia, high thyroid hormone doses and patient dehydration. Fast replenishment of liquids and administration of bisphosphonates are the cornerstones of hypercalcaemia therapy.

Key words:
hypercalcaemia – primary hyperparathyreosis – tumour disease hypercalcaemia – parathormone – bisphosphonates