Acute severe hypercalcemia in a la Münchausen.
A 51 year old nurse had a long complicated medical history with repeated medical and surgical interventions. Her condition fits the clinical description of the Münchausen syndrome. She presented to the hospital with hyperabsorptive hypercalcemia of over 20 mg/100 ml. Many diagnostic studies and intriguing detective investigations were undertaken before the cause of the extreme hypercalcemia was determined. The patient had been secretly ingesting between 20 and 30 Os-Cal 500 tablets daily which she repeatedly denied and which eventually were found in a false compartment of her purse. This is thought to be the highest recorded serum calcium level observed following the clandestine ingestion of excessive amounts of oral calcium.
D000208:Acute Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009110:Munchausen Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*