Life-threatening hypercalcemia in a child with vitamin D intoxication due to parental self-medication: A case report

Abstract

Vitamin D is essential for bone metabolism and has gained popularity since the general population is now more aware of its benefits. Unfortunately, the availability of unregulated vitamin D formulations without prescription increases the risk of inadvertently ingesting excessive doses of vitamin D. Reports of pediatric cases of vitamin D toxicity are scarce in the world literature. We present the case of a 4-years 9-months old boy from a rural town with vitamin D intoxication secondary to ingestion of seven oral vials containing each of them 600,000 Units of cholecalciferol for a period of 8 months. It is important to educate general population about the risks of ingesting vitamin D without medical prescription. In our patient, the most effective treatment strategy was the use of pamidronate.