Hypercalcemia. Experience with phosphate and sulfate therapy

Abstract

Phosphate infusions were administered to 10 hypercalcemic patients. Two patients had parathyroid adenomas and 8 patients had carcinoma with and without bone metastases. Prompt and effective reduction of elevated serum Ca levels was uniformly achieved in all of these patients for periods of 6 to 15 days. A similar, but shorter, effect was observed in 4 of these patients after sulfate infusions. Tissues obtained at autopsy from 5 phosphate-treated patients did not reveal a greater degree of metastatic calcification as compared with untreated hypercalcemic patients.