Case Report
Life-Threatening Hypercalcemia due to
Graves’ Disease and Concomitant Adrenal Failure:
A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Hande Mefkure Ozkaya, Fatma Ela Keskin, Ozlem Asmaz Haliloglu,
Tugba Elif Senel, and Pinar Kadioglu
Endocrinology and Metabolism, Cerrahpasa Medical School, University of Istanbul, 34098 Istanbul, Turkey
Correspondence should be addressed to Pinar Kadioglu; kadioglup@yahoo.com
Received 12 February 2015; Accepted 13 March 2015
Academic Editor: Yuji Moriwaki
Copyright © 2015 Hande Mekure Ozkaya et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
A 47-year-old woman presented with the complaints of nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. She had a history of bilateral
surrenalectomy due to Cushing’s syndrome. On examination she had tachycardia and orthostatic hypotension. Laboratory
examinations revealed hypercalcemia and suppressed parathyroid hormone levels. She also had thyrotoxicosis due to Graves’
disease. he investigations to rule out a malignancy were negative. With steroid, zoledronic acid, and antithyroid drug treatment
her symptoms were resolved and calcium level was normalized. his case highlights the importance of recognizing thyrotoxicosis
and concomitant adrenal failure as a possible cause of severe hypercalcemia.
1. Introduction
Severe or life-threatening hypercalcemia is, in most of the
cases, either caused by neoplastic disease or primary hyper-
parathyroidism [1]. However there are some other rare forms
of hypercalcemia that can represent a diagnostic challenge
to the physicians. Hyperthyroidism is known to cause a
relatively mild hypercalcemia and elevated serum calcium
levels are seen in approximately one-ith of the cases [2].
An increase in bone turnover and mobilization of calcium
from bone into the circulation are the main mechanisms
responsible for the hypercalcemia associated with hyperthy-
roidism [3]. Concomitant conditions like hypocortisolism
may aggravate hypercalcemia seen during hyperthyroidism
and thyroid hyperfunction per se may induce a relative
hypocortisolemic state, thus exacerbating further the degree
of calcium elevation [4]. We herein report a case of 47-year-
old woman presenting with life-threatening hypercalcemia
due to Graves’ disease accompanied by acute adrenal failure.
2. Case Presentation
A 47-year-old woman was admitted to our clinic with the
complaints of nausea, intermittent vomiting, constipation,
fatigue, and palpitation. She also had progressive weight loss
of 10 kg since last 5 months. She had a history of bilateral
surrenalectomy 3 years ago due to Cushing’s syndrome
associated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) inde-
pendent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia. he patient was
taking prednisolone 7.5 mg and ludrocortisone 0.1 mg orally
once a day. Her family history was signiicant for breast
cancer in her mother, gastric cancer in her aunt, and coronary
artery disease in her uncle. Physical examination revealed
tachycardia, presence of lid lag, warm skin, and orthostatic
hypotension. he thyroid gland was enlarged and had a
bruit. Pertinent laboratory values included a serum thyroid
stimulating hormone (TSH) of 0.005 mIU/L (normal, 0.4 to
4.2) with a free T4 value of 7.7 ng/dL (normal, 0.93 to 1.7) and
free T3 value of 16 pg/mL (normal, 2 to 4.4). hyroglobulin
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Endocrinology
Volume 2015, Article ID 684648, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/684648