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Primary Hyperparathyroidism: Association with Coexistent Secondary Causes of Hypercalcemia

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Hyperparathyroidism

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Abstract

Primary hyperparathyroidism is most often diagnosed without confounding medical conditions or medications that may make interpretation of laboratory data more difficult. Occasionally, however, biochemical findings are not what were expected for this diagnosis. In some cases, serum calcium is much higher than anticipated for the level of parathyroid hormone, and in others, parathyroid hormone is lower than it should be for the serum calcium level. These findings suggest that coexisting secondary causes of hypercalcemia may be present.

Common factors that stimulate parathyroid hormone secretion, such as vitamin D deficiency, suboptimal calcium intake or absorption, or idiopathic hypercalciuria, must often be ruled out to clarify the cause of hyperparathyroidism. If the workup shows no evident physiological causes to explain the hyperparathyroidism, then it is reasonable to assume that other coexisting causes of hypercalcemia must be present and to evaluate for these.

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All authors state that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Nicole M. Iñiguez-Ariza MD & Bart L. Clarke MD

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  1. Nicole M. Iñiguez-Ariza MD
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  2. Bart L. Clarke MD
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Correspondence to Bart L. Clarke MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Ann E. Kearns

  2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Robert A. Wermers

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Iñiguez-Ariza, N.M., Clarke, B.L. (2016). Primary Hyperparathyroidism: Association with Coexistent Secondary Causes of Hypercalcemia. In: Kearns, A., Wermers, R. (eds) Hyperparathyroidism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25880-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25880-5_16

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