VOLUME 4 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2020 ) > List of Articles
Srishti Nayyar, Shveta Mahajan
Citation Information : Nayyar S, Mahajan S. Severe Life-threatening Hypercalcemia in Skeletal Metastasis from Malignancy of Unknown Origin: A Rare Presentation. Curr Trends Diagn Treat 2020; 4 (1):36-37.
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10055-0094
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 16-06-2020
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).
Severe hypercalcemia is a life-threatening condition. Hypercalcemia of malignancy can occur as a result of 4 different mechanisms, the most common mechanism being humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM). The second most common mechanism that majorly concerns our case is osteolytic hypercalcemia. In patients with osseous metastases, increased cytokine activity in the region of lytic osseous metastatic lesions greatly stimulate the activity of osteoclasts in the bone. When compensatory mechanisms are exceeded, the serum calcium level rises causing hypercalcemia. Symptoms and signs include nausea and vomiting, fatigue, depression, confusion, psychosis, abdominal pain, constipation, acute pancreatitis, peptic ulceration, polyuria/nocturia, hematuria, renal colic, renal failure, bone pain, hypertension, and arrhythmias. We present this case of severe hypercalcemia to emphasize the severity of disease associated with lytic skeletal metastasis with an emphasis on early management, diagnosis, and interventions to prevent early mortality.
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