Hypercalcemia secondary to excessive self-medication with antacids causing acute pancreatitis: a case report.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Vassallo, Pietro; Green, Nikki; Courtney, Edward
- Source
- Croatian Medical Journal. Feb2019, Vol. 60 Issue 1, p42-45. 4p.
- Subject
- *NECROTIZING pancreatitis
- Language
- ISSN
- 0353-9504
Excessive self-medication with over-the-counter drugs is an issue commonly encountered by health care professionals. It can result in uncommon presentations of lifethreatening illnesses. These medications are frequently overlooked by clinicians when taking histories from patients, and their risks are often downplayed. We present the case of a 35-year-old woman with acute pancreatitis secondary to hypercalcemia. This condition occurred due to long-term excessive self-administration of calcium-rich antacid tablets. Her clinical course involved multifactorial rebound hypocalcemia after treatment and multiple complications from the abuse of other non-prescription medications. Acute pancreatitis secondary to antacid-induced milk-alkali syndrome has been minimally reported in the literature. There are no reports describing rebound hypocalcemia as a complication of its treatment or presenting this pathology in the context of multiple over-the-counter drug abuse. This case highlights the importance of taking thorough drug histories, including non-prescription medications, in acute clinical assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]