What tests should be done for low blood calcium

If patients with hypocalcemia want to adopt scientific and effective treatment methods, they need to pay special attention to the diagnosis and examination of this disease. During the examination, patients will also be asked to consult whether they have problems such as chronic renal insufficiency and hyperthyroidism.

1. First of all, the patient's medical history should be carefully inquired when seeing a doctor: attention should be paid to whether there is a history of chronic renal insufficiency, hyperthyroidism treated with surgery or radiotherapy, other thyroid and neck surgeries, liver disease, intestinal malabsorption, insufficient intake, lack of light, multiple pregnancies, and long-term breastfeeding. Long-term use of antiepileptic drugs (such as primidone, phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, etc.) or protamine, heparin, and repeated transfusion of blood containing sodium citrate can all lead to hypocalcemia.

2. In addition, the patient should be asked about the history of tetany and paresthesias, as well as bone calcification disorders. Based on the medical history, the following examinations were performed: 1. Physical examination: When the blood calcium is low, the neuromuscular excitability increases, and hand and foot twitching, muscle spasms, laryngeal stridor, convulsions, as well as irritability, emotional instability, hallucinations and other mental symptoms may occur. Patients with hypocalcemia may show positive Chvostek and Trousseau signs, but about one-third of patients may be negative. 2. Auxiliary examinations: including laboratory tests: blood calcium, blood phosphorus, PTH, liver function, kidney function, albumin, urine calcium, 1,25(OH)2 D3, blood magnesium, etc.; electrocardiogram: the electrocardiogram of patients with hypocalcemia often shows a prolonged QT interval, and sometimes tachycardia; imaging examinations: 20% of patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism can be found to have intracranial calcification (mainly in the basal ganglia), while patients with hypoparathyroidism or pseudohypoparathyroidism after surgery generally do not have intracranial calcification.

3. Bone X-rays can help understand the nature and extent of bone diseases, and can also determine whether there are metastatic tumors. The cause of this disease can be basically determined based on medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests (such as blood phosphorus, PTH, liver and kidney function, albumin, etc.). Then targeted treatment.