Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 May 2;11(5):e4590.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.4590.

Lithium-induced Hyperparathyroidism and Hypercalcemia

Affiliations
Case Reports

Lithium-induced Hyperparathyroidism and Hypercalcemia

Srikanth Naramala et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Lithium is one of the mainstays of treatment for bipolar disorder. Chronic lithium therapy can rarely lead to hypercalcemia secondary to lithium-induced hyperparathyroidism. We present a 66-year-old female patient with bipolar disorder on lithium therapy presenting with hypercalcemia. We discussed the pathophysiology and management of hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia in patients on chronic lithium therapy.

Keywords: hypercalcemia; hyperparathyroidism; lithium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Parathyroid scan showing uptake in all sites at 10 minutes (top two images) and a left-sided adenoma at four hours (bottom two images) - washout over time of sestamibi from the normal PTH tissue more rapid than a PTH adenoma. Persistent uptake in the left PTH area suggesting an adenoma on the four-hour delayed scan.
PTH: parathyroid hormone

References

    1. Lithium-induced parathyroid dysfunction: a new case. Nair CG, Menon R, Jacob P, Babu M. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17:930–932. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hyperparathyroidism with lithium [Article in French] Brochier T, Adnet-Kessous J, Barillot M, Pascalis JG. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8088238. Encephale. 1994;20:339–349. - PubMed
    1. Hypothyroidism and hyperparathyroidism associated with lithium. Garfinkel P, Ezrin C, Stancer H. Lancet. 1973;302:331–332. - PubMed
    1. Lithium-associated hyperparathyroidism: report of four cases and review of the literature. Szalat A, Mazeh H, Freund HR. Eur J Endocrinol. 2009;160:317–323. - PubMed
    1. Clinical manifestations of hypercalcemia. [Apr;2019 ];Shane Shane, Elizabeth Elizabeth. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-manifestations-of-hypercalcemia Uptodate , 24 Apr. 2019

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources