Abstract
An 80-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of near-drowning in a hot spring. Besides hypoxia, serum calcium was extremely high at 15.5 mg/dL on admission. After the treatment with normal saline infusion, furosemide and calcitonin, the hypercalcemia was transient and didn’t recur during the course. The hot spring water contained much calcium, so his hypercalcemia was considered to be a result of calcium absorption mainly through the alveoli. In this case, we revealed that serum calcium rose within a short time after drowning, suggesting the necessity to measure the calcium concentration of the drowning fluid in a near-drowning victim.
Highlights
Drowning is a life-threatening accident and care of hypoxia is the mainstay of therapy
We revealed that serum calcium rose within a short time after drowning, suggesting the necessity to measure the calcium concentration of the drowning fluid in a near-drowning victim
We report a case of severe hypercalcemia complicating a near-drowning in a hot spring
Summary
Drowning is a life-threatening accident and care of hypoxia is the mainstay of therapy. The constitution of the aspirated water has rarely been considered to be important, except for the difference between sea-water and fresh water. Electrolyte disability in near-drowning victim has been a rare complication and has been considered to seldom need treatment. There are a few cases of lethal hypercalcemia complicating a neardrowning in unusual circumstances such as in the Dead Sea [1]. We report a case of severe hypercalcemia complicating a near-drowning in a hot spring
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