Hypercalcemia in pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis can affect calcium metabolism, mainly through an enhanced production of active vitamin D. The incidence of hypercalcemia among unselected patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis was investigated, retrospectively, during a ten-year period. Among 67 patients, the mean serum calcium concentration on admission was significantly raised compared to healthy controls (2.51 +/- 0.16 (SD) vs 2.43 +/- 0.07 mmol/l; p less than 0.001) and 25% of the patients had hypercalcemia. After one year of successful tuberculostatic treatment the serum calcium values had normalized.