Reversible renal failure caused by hypercalcemia. A retrospective study

The influence of hypercalcemia on renal function was studied retrospectively in 13 patients suffering from primary hyperparathyroidism, sarcoidosis, vitamin D intoxication, malignant lymphoma or chronic lymphatic leucemia. Different kinds of treatment, depending upon the primary disease, often induced a rapid fall in the serum calcium concentration. The serum creatinine concentration always fell simultaneously. The serum phosphate concentration fell in all but two patients. Changes in serum calcium and serum creatinine correlated significantly (p less than 0.001), as did changes in serum calcium and serum phosphate concentrations (p less than 0.05). Serum calcium/serum creatinine and serum calcium/serum phosphate ratios were significantly higher in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism than in patients with hypercalcemia of non-hyperparathyroid origin (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001). This suggests a different effect of calcium on the glomerular filtration rate in hyperparathyroid and non-hyperparathyroid patients, the latter group being more sensitive to the influence of hypercalcemia. Possible explanations for this difference, such as a protective effect of PTH on the glomerular filtration, are discussed.