Calcium is an inorganic mineral that is necessary for healthy bones and basic body functions such as cell function, blood clotting and nerve function. Hypocalcaemia is a condition that is caused by insufficient amount of calcium concentrations in the blood or by loss of calcium from the kidneys. This condition is a result of deficiency of PTH called hypoparathyroidism or Vitamin D deficiency (Elaine Murphy and Graham R Williams 2009). The body regulates normal blood calcium through the actions of three hormones called parathyroid hormone (PTH) which is synthesized and secreted by the parathyroid gland, which lies posterior to the thyroid glands, calcitriol and calcitonin. The normal adult reference range for calcium in the plasma is 2.20-2.60mmol/L and 1.20-1.37mmol/L for ionized calcium. (Dr Nessar Ahmed 2010)
Calcium homeostasis refers to the regulation of the concentration of calcium ions in the
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Hypocalcemia is caused by a number of clinical entities and often presents with signs of generalized neuromuscular irritability including paraesthesia, muscle cramps, laryngospasm, tetany, and seizures. This neuromuscular instability can also be shown through the elicitation of Chvostek’s sign which is an abnormal spasm of the facial muscles elicited by light taps on the cheek to stimulate the facial nerve in patients who are hypocalaemic (Figure 1) and Trousseau’s sign in which spasm occurs when the upper arm is compressed as a blood pressure cuff (Figure 2). Another common symptom is petechiae, which are round spots that appear on the skin as a result of bleeding under the skin (Dr Nessar Ahmed 2010). Other clinical features of hypocalcaemia involve numbness of fingers, toes and circumoral region, muscle cramps and psychological effects such as depression, personality disturbances, seizures and memory loss (Elaine Murphy and Graham R Williams