Hypocalcemia

Abstract

Hypocalcemia is defined as albumin-corrected calcium <2.1 mmol/l. Symptoms of hypocalcemia are mainly neurological-psychiatric and cardiovascular. Severe symptomatic hypocalcemia is an emergency and requires an intravenous substitution of calcium. At the same time, the underlying cause of hypocalcemia has to be identified and treated. Based on patho-physiology, hypocalcemia can be divided into four groups: parathyroid hormone dysfunction, disturbances of vitamin D metabolism, of bone metabolism or of renal calcium excretion. Medical history, clinical examination and laboratory diagnostics help to identify one of these groups and to make the correct final diagnosis.