ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess outcome in a cohort of patients with infantile hypercalcemia followed over 3 years. STUDY DESIGN: Patients (n = 32) presenting to the calcium clinic between July 2002 and September 2008 were studied. In addition to tests of calcium phosphate metabolism, serum insulin-like growth factor-1, calcitonin, urine citrate, and calcium-sensing receptor gene analysis were obtained. RESULTS: Mean age at presentation was 6.0 ± 6.3 months. Mean calcium level was 11.4 ± 0.7 mg/dL (2.84 ± 0.17 mmol/L). A recognized cause was found in 14% and a probable cause in 14% of the cohort. Those with nephrocalcinosis (n = 11) had significantly lower mean weight SDS and higher mean calcium levels. The biochemical profile of those in whom no cause could be determined included nonsuppressed parathyroid hormone with either normal or increased 1,25(OH)(2)D. Hypercalcemia resolved in 20 patients. However, in approximately a third, there was persistence in hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, or nephrocalcinosis. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of 1,25(OH)(2)D and calcium-sensing receptor mutation analysis to a panel of investigations may improve diagnostic yield. Clinical outcome is overall good, however, one-third need ongoing follow-up.
Subject(s)
Calcium Phosphates/blood , Calcium/blood , Hypercalcemia/diagnosis , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/metabolism , Child, Preschool , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , DNA Mutational Analysis , Disease Progression , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Hypercalcemia/blood , Hypercalcemia/genetics , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Mutation , Parathyroid Hormone/blood , Radioimmunoassay , Receptors, Calcium-Sensing/genetics , Retrospective Studies , Severity of Illness Index , Spectrophotometry , Time FactorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency and characteristics of clinical signs, symptoms, laboratory findings, and medication use in children with pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (pSLE) at presentation and during the course of the disease, and to examine correlations among disease manifestations, disease activity, and damage over time. STUDY DESIGN: The study involved an analysis of medical records and the SLE database of an inception cohort of 256 patients with pSLE (female:male ratio, 4.7:1). RESULTS: The most common clinical manifestations were arthritis (67%), malar rash (66%), nephritis (55%), and central nervous system (CNS) disease (27%). At diagnosis, patients with both renal and CNS disease had the highest SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores (P < .0001), but these scores were similar to those of the total group at 1 year (P = .11). Patients who developed renal and CNS disease more than 1 year after diagnosis had higher SLEDAI scores at disease onset. Some 34% of patients had Systemic Lupus International Collaborative Clinics Damage Index (SLICC-DI) scores >1 at a mean follow-up of 3.5 years. A greater proportion of patients with renal and CNS disease had SLICC-DI scores of >1, and these patients had higher mean scores compared with patients without major organ involvement (70% vs 11% [P < .0001] and 1.4 vs 0.1 [P < .0001], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the patients in our cohort exhibited major organ involvement. These patients had the highest SLEDAI scores at diagnosis, which normalized at 1 year but preceded development of renal and CNS disease. The average SLICC-DI score was lower than that previously reported in patients with pSLE.