title: Frequency of hypercalcemia in patients of multiple myeloma in Karachi.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of hypercalcemia and skeletal abnormalities in multiple myeloma patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study was conducted from January 1999 to July 2004 at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of all the diagnosed cases of multiple myeloma at their presentation to hospital were reviewed. The frequency of hypercalcemia and skeletal lesions was calculated. Independent sample t-test and chi-square test as appropriate, was applied to calculate the difference in parameters between normocalcemic and hypercalcemic patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-seven percent patients were males and 33% were females. The mean age was 61-/+11 years. Of the 105 study patients, 51.2% had hypercalcemia (S.Ca >2.64 mmol/l). Radiological survey showed different levels of skeletal involvement in 89.8% of patients. It was also found that 94.3% of hypercalcemic patients had skeletal lesions, out of which 20% had advanced (stage 3) bone lesions. Also noteworthy was the fact that 84.6% of normocalcemic patients had mild /moderate (stage 1 and 2) skeletal lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was higher frequency of hypercalcemia in multiple myeloma patients in this series. Skeletal lesions were present in significant number of these patients. It is suggested that patients with multiple myeloma should be checked for serum corrected calcium and radiological surveys be included in routine workup for early detection and prevention of hypercalcemia and skeletal lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. shireen.mansoor@aku.edu
authors.forename: Shireen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mansoor
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adil
authors.forename: Ghulam Nabi
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Kakapeto
authors.forename: Zafar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fatmi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001847:Bone Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000150:complications*; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology