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Review
. 2008 Jun 7;336(7656):1298-302.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.39582.589433.BE.

Diagnosis and management of hypocalcaemia

Mark S Cooper  1 , Neil J L Gittoes
Affiliations
Review

Diagnosis and management of hypocalcaemia

Mark S Cooper et al. BMJ. .

Erratum in

  • BMJ. 2008 Jun 28;336(7659): doi: 10.1136/bmj.a334
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

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Fig 1 Regulation of serum calcium. Parathyroid hormone and vitamin D normally interact to protect against hypocalcaemia. Problems at any level can lead to low serum calcium, but the most common problems are vitamin D deficiency and hypoparathyroidism
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Fig 2 Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy. Abnormalities of skeletal development are seen in some patients with pseudohypoparathyroidism. The images show shortening of the metacarpal bones that can occur in patients with Albright’s syndrome or in patients without abnormalities of calcium or parathyroid hormone (pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism). Images courtesy of Muhammad Ali Karamat
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Fig 3 Eliciting Chvostek’s sign. Adapted from Springhouse
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Fig 4 Eliciting Trousseau’s sign. Adapted from Netter
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Fig 5 Algorithm for requesting investigations to elucidate the cause of hypocalcaemia
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Fig 6 Algorithm for managing acute hypocalcaemia. In an emergency setting parenteral calcium is likely to be needed. If medium or long term treatment is needed, vitamin D or one of its analogues should be given
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Use of oral calcium to treat hypocalcaemia.
    Steichen O. Steichen O. BMJ. 2008 Jun 21;336(7658):1392. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a355. BMJ. 2008. PMID: 18566054 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • More causes of hypocalcaemia.
    Marchetti F, Giurici N, Ventura A. Marchetti F, et al. BMJ. 2008 Jun 21;336(7658):1392. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a354. BMJ. 2008. PMID: 18566055 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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