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. 1970 Aug;46(538):468–470. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.46.538.468

Frequency of disordered calcium metabolism in sarcoidosis

Harold L Israel, Robert A Goldstein
PMCID: PMC2467289  PMID: 5481093

Abstract

A prospective study of total and ultrafiltrable serum calcium levels in 121 patients with sarcoidosis and thirty-eight control subjects revealed no significant differences. Two patients had hypercalcaemia (11·6 and 12·2 mg%) at the time of initial sampling; one spontaneously returned to normal. Retrospective analysis of 318 cases previously studied demonstrated persistent hypercalcaemia in eight of 262 negroes and two of fifty-six whites, with a male to female ratio of seven to three.

Serial calcium measurements in thirty-four patients and single determinations in eighty-seven patients taken during the course of 1 year failed to show seasonal fluctuation.

These observations suggest that calcium metabolism is normal in most patients with sarcoidosis. When persistent hypercalcaemia is found in a patient with sarcoidosis, careful study for associated hyperparathyroidism is essential, especially if the sarcoidosis is otherwise asymptomatic or inactive.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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