Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T11:12:30.406Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3.11.4 - Calcium

from Section 3.11 - Metabolic Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
Get access

Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in the human body and its numerous essential roles include exocrine, endocrine and neurocrine function, mediation of muscle contraction and coagulation.

  2. 2. Normal serum calcium concentrations are tightly regulated by the kidney, gastrointestinal tract and bone, under the influence of parathyroid hormone, vitamin D and calcitonin.

  3. 3. The effects of hypercalcaemia may be memorised as groans (constipation), bones (bone pain), stones (kidney stones) and moans (psychosis).

  4. 4. Treatment of hypercalcaemia is dependent on severity, with the mainstay involving hydration/intravenous administration of 0.9% saline to dilute plasma calcium, alongside treatment of the underlying cause.

  5. 5. One of the most frequent causes of hypocalcaemia in critical illness is hypoalbuminaemia.

Type
Chapter
Information
Intensive Care Medicine
The Essential Guide
, pp. 370 - 372
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References and Further Reading

Aguillera, IM, Vaughan, RS. Calcium and the anaesthetist. Anaesthesia 2000;55:779–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bushinsky, DA, Monk, RD. Calcium. Lancet 1998;352:306–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parikh, M, Webb, ST. Cations: potassium, calcium and magnesium. Contin Educ Anaesth Crit Care Pain 2012;12:195–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×