Severe hypocalcaemia following coronary artery bypass grafting due to hypoparathyroidism

ABSTRACT

A 55 years old man was extubated on first postoperative day following coronary artery bypass grafting at 730 am. The same day at 5 pm, he became drowsy but arousable only on painful stimuli with severe generalized hypertonia and bilateral upgoing plantars. He was reventilated and a provisional diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident was made. CT scan of brain was normal except for bilateral basal ganglia calcification. On further investigations, he was found to be severely hypocalcaemic due to hypoparathyroidism. All symptoms resolved on the treatment of his hypocalcaemia. There was no history of neck surgery in this patient and the case additionally highlights important interaction between parathyroid hormone [PTH] in calcium metabolism