Relationship of Gender and Serum Calcium and/or Phosphorus Levels on Admission with the Etiology and Early Prognosis of Hypercalcemia

Abstract

Aim:Hypercalcemia (HCM) is a common clinical problem characterized by a serum corrected calcium (cCa) level of >10.7 mg/dL. Primary hyperparathyroidism and malignancy are mostly (90%) involved in the etiology. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship of cCa and phosphorus (P) levels, cCa/P ratio and gender with the etiology of HCM and one-week mortality.Methods:Records of HCM patients older than 18 years of age who were hospitalized between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Age, gender, cCa and P levels, HCM etiology and one-week survival status of the patients were recorded. Subsequently, the patients were divided into two groups according to whether the etiology of HCM was benign or malignant. Then, the groups were compared statistically in terms of gender, biochemical values and one-week survival.Results:The median level of serum cCa was found to be significantly higher in males (p<0.00). The frequency of malignancy-associated HCM was higher in males than in females. When the groups were compared, serum cCa and P levels were found to be higher in malignancy-associated group (p<0.000 and p=0.005, respectively). The one-week mortality rate in all patients was 18.99%. However, surprisingly, the one-week mortality rate in malignancy-associated HCM was lower than in the other group.Conclusion:Our study results show that serum cCa and P levels at the time of admission, and gender may help early evaluation of the etiology and/or prognosis of HCM.

Keywords

• hypercalcemia
• mortality
• calcium
• phosphorus
• prognosis