Assessment and Management of Patients with Abnormal Calcium

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Assessment and Management of Patients with Abnormal Calcium Assessment and management of patients with abnormal calcium Charlotte Eielson Ariyan, MD, PhD; Julie Ann Sosa, MA, MD Calcium is essential for homeostasis, and normocalcemia should calcitonin. Some of these patients may require an urgent para- be maintained strictly during the perioperative period. The biochem- thyroidectomy for calcium control. istry of calcium equilibrium results from the calcium-sensing recep- Hypocalcemia needs to be verified, as many cases of hypocalce- tors on the parathyroid glands, which detect changes in calcium mia are the artifact of hypoalbuminemia. Severe hypocalcemia oc- concentrations and initiate the proper response. curs after subtotal or total parathyroidectomy with auto transplan- Asymptomatic hypercalcemia is a common metabolic de- tation as well as after massive resuscitation or blood transfusion. rangement that is often discovered on routine serum screening. Strategies aimed at correcting calcium concentrations depend on the The most common etiologies are primary hyperparathyroidism severity of symptomatology. If symptoms are mild, oral calcium sup- and cancer. Increasingly, parathyroidectomy is the preferred ther- plementation can be given; otherwise, intravenous calcium should be apy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Severe hypercalcemia (“hy- administered. (Crit Care Med 2004; 32[Suppl.]:S146–S154) percalcemic crisis”) should be managed aggressively with a KEY WORDS: calcium; hypercalcemia; hypocalcemia; parathy- combination of intravenous fluids, steroids, bisphosphonates, and roid; sestamibi alcium is a highly regulated, concentration also affects platelet aggre- tients with metabolic alkalosis often are ubiquitous cation that has gation and function (9). hypocalcemic (13). multiple roles in the body. Normal Calcium Concentrations and Control of Calcium Concentrations. Since the development of life Distribution. Calcium exists in the extra- Concentrations of calcium are highly Con earth, calcium has bound with organic cellular plasma in a free ionized state as modulated through a delicate interplay ligands. Theoretically, calcium evolved well as bound to other molecules. “Nor- between parathyroid hormone (PTH), into this role because its traits facilitate mal” plasma concentrations of total cal- calcitonin, and vitamin D acting on tar- ligand interactions: It is large, positively cium vary between laboratories, but the get organs such as bone, kidney, and the charged, and spherical in shape (1). With range of (bound and unbound) calcium is gastrointestinal tract (Fig. 1). Chief cells evolution, calcium localized to specific usually between 8.5 and 10.2 mg/dL (2.2– in the parathyroid glands secrete PTH, an areas. For example, the extracellular 2.5 mmol/L). The biologically inert 84-amino acid protein, whenever calcium space is abundant with calcium, whereas bound fraction (55% of the total) binds to concentrations decrease. This, in turn, the intracellular concentration remains proteins. Changes in albumin alter total stimulates osteoclasts to increase bone low, except in specialized compartments resorption, the kidney to increase cal- such as the mitochondria and the endo- calcium concentrations significantly, since the majority of protein-bound cal- cium resorption and renal production of plasmic, sarcoplasmic, and nuclear retic- 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH) D], ula (2). Gradients in calcium concentra- cium associates with albumin (80%). A 2 small percentage of calcium is associated and the intestine to increase absorption tion are achieved through channels that of calcium and phosphate. Together, with other proteins, such as ␤-globulins, regulate ion flow. The principal calcium these processes raise the calcium concen- or nonprotein molecules such as phos- channels are voltage-gated, ligand-gated, tration. The recently cloned (14) calci- phate and citrate. Mathematical formulas and second messenger-operated, and this um-sensing receptors in the parathyroid correcting for disparate albumin concen- allows cells to use calcium as the most glands detect changes in calcium concen- trations (e.g., corrected calcium ϭ de- common second messenger (3). There- trations, which results in a negative feed- fore, changes in intracellular calcium crease of 0.8 mg/dL for every 1.0 mg back loop that decreases PTH production. concentration affect a myriad of cell func- ϩ decrease in albumin, or [total calcium Calcitonin is a 32-amino acid protein tions, including cell death or apoptosis ϫ Ϫ 0.025] [40 albumin]) can be notori- secreted by the parafollicular cells of the (4); the duration and strength of cardiac ously inaccurate, and an ionized calcium thyroid gland in response to high calcium muscle contraction (5); and smooth mus- concentration should be measured (10). concentrations. Its actions oppose those cle contraction in blood vessels (6), air- Forty-five percent of the total calcium is of PTH. Calcitonin rapidly inhibits bone ways (7), and the uterus (8). Calcium biologically active and exists in the ion- resorption, leading to a transient de- ized form, with a normal concentration crease in serum calcium concentrations. of 4.5–5.0 mg/dL (11). Ionized calcium Vitamin D is ingested or synthesized concentrations are inversely affected by From Yale University School of Medicine, Depart- in precursor form, which then under- ment of Surgery, New Haven, CT. the pH of blood; an increase in pH will goes two hydroxylation steps before Copyright © 2004 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins decrease the ionized calcium concentra- becoming a molecule that influences DOI: 10.1097/01.CCM.0000117172.51403.AF tion by 0.36 mmol/L (12), such that pa- calcium concentrations. The first hy- S146 Crit Care Med 2004 Vol. 32, No. 4 (Suppl.) Figure 1. Calcium homeostasis and parathyroid hormone (PTH). droxylation step at carbon 25 occurs in paradoxically worsens hypercalcemia cause of hypercalcemia. The biochemical the liver, and the second hydroxylation (16). diagnosis is established by elevated serum step at carbon 1 occurs in the kidney in Hypercalcemia also affects the electric calcium and intact parathyroid hormone response to increased PTH concentra- conduction pathways of the heart. Pa- (iPTH) concentrations with an inappro- tions. The 1,25(OH)2D increases cal- tients with elevated calcium concentra- priately normal or increased 24-hr urine cium and phosphate resorption from tions have electrocardiographic changes calcium concentration, all in the setting the gastrointestinal tract and stimu- marked by shortened QTc intervals (17) of normal renal function. lates bone resorption, thereby raising (Fig. 2). Patients with hyperparathyroid- The most common cause of primary calcium concentrations. ism will demonstrate these electrocardio- hyperparathyroidism is a parathyroid ad- Preoperative Assessment: Hypercalce- graphic findings, which normalize with enoma (85%). Adenomas are benign and mia. Hypercalcemia is defined as an in- successful parathyroidectomy. However, typically affect only one gland, but in 5% crease in serum calcium Ͼ1 mg/mL cardiac arrhythmias or conduction prob- of cases, two glands are affected. Parathy- above the normal range (15). It affects lems generally are not associated with roid hyperplasia affects all glands and is multiple organ systems and leads to a this phenomenon (18). In addition, se- the underlying cause of primary hyper- myriad of clinical symptoms and signs. vere hypercalcemia can cause the Os- parathyroidism in 10% of cases. It can be Gastrointestinal symptoms result from born, or J wave, seen at the tail end of the associated with the multiple endocrine smooth muscle relaxation and include QRS complex, which usually is associated neoplasia I and IIa syndromes. A thor- constipation, anorexia, nausea, and vom- with hypothermia (19). ough history and physical exam should be iting. Neurologically, patients with hy- Increased calcium concentrations also performed to exclude these autosomal percalcemia can be lethargic, hypotonic, have been shown to cause pancreatitis (20, dominant, multiple-organ syndromes. confused, or even comatose. Effects on 21) (see case study presented subsequently). Multiple endocrine neoplasia I includes the kidneys include polyuria, dehydra- hyperparathyroidism, pituitary adenoma, tion, and nephrolithiasis. Dehydration Causes of Hypercalcemia and pancreatic tumors (most commonly leads to proximal tubule resorption of insulinomas or gastrinomas). Multiple sodium and calcium in an effort to ex- Hyperparathyroidism. Primary hyper- endocrine neoplasia IIa includes hyper- pand the extracellular volume, but this parathyroidism is the most common parathyroidism, medullary carcinoma of Crit Care Med 2004 Vol. 32, No. 4 (Suppl.) S147 (29), and bone (30). However, inappropri- ate PTHrp secretion is the primary cause of the hypercalcemia of malignancy. It can lead to pathologic bone fractures and other symptoms of hypercalcemia that portend a poor prognosis (26). PTHrp- induced hypercalcemia is associated with squamous cell (e.g., lung) (31), breast, (32), prostate (33), and (rarely) colon cancer (34) as well as adult T-cell malig- nancies (35, 36) and multiple myeloma (37). Granulomatous Diseases. The associ- ation between hypercalcemia and granu- lomatous diseases such as sarcoidosis was first documented in 1939 (38). Hypercal- cemia occurs secondary to increased 1,25(OH)2D production that is indepen- dent from the normal negative feedback mechanisms (39). Macrophages in gran- ulomas produce 1,25(OH)2D (40). Other granulomatous disease such as tubercu- losis, leprosy,
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