HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Assessment and clinical course of hypocalcemia in critical illness.

AbstractINTRODUCTION:
Hypocalcemia is common in critically ill patients. However, its clinical course during the early days of admission and the role of calcium supplementation remain uncertain, and the assessment of calcium status is inconsistent. We aimed to establish the course of hypocalcemia during the early days of critical illness in relation to mortality and to assess the impact of calcium supplementation on calcium normalization and mortality.
METHODS:
Data were collected on 1,038 admissions to the critical care units of a tertiary care hospital. One gram of calcium gluconate was administered intravenously once daily to patients with adjusted calcium (AdjCa)<2.2 mmol/L. Demographic and outcome data were compared in normocalcemic (ionized calcium, iCa, 1.1-1.3 mmol/L) and mildly and severely hypocalcemic patients (iCa 0.9-1.1 mmol/L and <0.9 mmol/L, respectively). The change in iCa concentrations was monitored during the first four days of admission and comparisons between groups were made using Repeated Measures ANOVA. Comparisons of normalization and outcome were made between hypocalcemic patients who did and did not receive calcium replacement according to the local protocol. The suitability of AdjCa to predict low iCa was determined by analyzing sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine associations of other electrolyte derangements with hypocalcemia.
RESULTS:
55.2% of patients were hypocalcemic on admission; 6.2% severely so. Severely hypocalcemic patients required critical care for longer (P=0.001) compared to normocalcemic or mildly hypocalcemic patients, but there was no difference in mortality between groups (P=0.48). iCa levels normalized within four days in most, with no difference in normalization between those who died and survived (P=0.35). Severely hypocalcemic patients who failed to normalize their iCa by day 4 had double the mortality (38% vs. 19%, P=0.15). Neither iCa normalization nor survival were superior in hypocalcemic patients receiving supplementation on admission. AdjCa<2.2 mmol/L had a sensitivity of 78.2% and specificity of 63.3% for predicting iCa<1.1 mmol/L. Low magnesium, sodium and albumin were independently associated with hypocalcemia on admission.
CONCLUSIONS:
Hypocalcemia usually normalizes within the first four days after admission to ICU and failure to normalize in severely hypocalcemic patients may be associated with increased mortality. Calcium replacement appears not to improve normalization or mortality. AdjCa is not a good surrogate of iCa in an ICU setting.
AuthorsTom Steele, Ruwanthi Kolamunnage-Dona, Colin Downey, Cheng-Hock Toh, Ingeborg Welters
JournalCritical care (London, England) (Crit Care) Vol. 17 Issue 3 Pg. R106 (Jun 04 2013) ISSN: 1466-609X [Electronic] England
PMID23734769 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Observational Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • Calcium Gluconate
Topics
  • Aged
  • Calcium Gluconate (administration & dosage)
  • Critical Illness (therapy)
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypocalcemia (blood, diagnosis, drug therapy)
  • Injections, Intravenous
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Admission (trends)
  • Retrospective Studies

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: