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Hypercalcemia resistant to cinacalcet caused by a mediastinal hyperplastic parathyroid gland in a renal transplant patient

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Summary

Background

Renal hyperparathyroidism is a common complication in patients with chronic kidney disease. Cinacalcet, a kind of calcimimetic, has been reported to be an effective and safe treatment option in renal transplant patients with hyperparathyroidism. However, some patients require parathyroidectomy due to resistance to cinacalcet treatment. It is uncertain when we should give up treatment with cinacalcet and perform parathyroidectomy for persistent hyperparathyroidism.

Case report

We experience the first documented case in which cinacalcet-resistant hypercalcemia was caused by a mediastinal hyperplastic parathyroid gland after renal transplantation. The patient received total parathyroidectomy with autograft 4 years before renal transplantation. The levels of serum calcium and parathyroid hormone were controlled well with 25 mg daily of cinacalcet. Despite continuous treatment with cinacalcet, the patient developed hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria and nephrocarcinosis after renal transplantation. A mediastinal parathyroid lesion was revealed by imaging. Eventually, parathyroidectomy was performed for the mediastinal gland for the purpose of preventing new stone formation in the renal graft.

Conclusion

It was suggested that prompt parathyroidectomy is preferable rather than prolonged medical treatment for hypercalcemia resistant to cinacalcet caused by persistent hyperparathyroidism after renal transplantation. Furthermore, we should be extremely careful about hypercalcinuria and nephrocalcinosis when we prescribe cinacalcet for patients under hypercalcemia.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Transplant and Endocrine Surgery, Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital, 2–9 Myokencho, 466-8650, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Japan

    Manabu Okada MD, Kenta Futamura MD, Takahisa Hiramitsu MD, PhD, Makoto Tsujita MD, Norihiko Goto MD, PhD, Shunji Narumi MD, PhD, Yoshihiko Watarai MD, PhD, Toshihiro Ichimori MD & Yoshihiro Tominaga MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Manabu Okada MD
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  2. Kenta Futamura MD
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  3. Takahisa Hiramitsu MD, PhD
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  4. Makoto Tsujita MD
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  5. Norihiko Goto MD, PhD
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  6. Shunji Narumi MD, PhD
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  7. Yoshihiko Watarai MD, PhD
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  8. Toshihiro Ichimori MD
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  9. Yoshihiro Tominaga MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manabu Okada MD.

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Conflict of interest

M. Okada, K. Futamura, T. Hiramitsu, M. Tsujita, N. Goto, S. Narumi, Y. Watarai, T. Ichimori and Y. Tominaga declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Okada, M., Futamura, K., Hiramitsu, T. et al. Hypercalcemia resistant to cinacalcet caused by a mediastinal hyperplastic parathyroid gland in a renal transplant patient. Eur Surg 49, 187–191 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10353-017-0484-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10353-017-0484-y

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