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A case report of hypo-parathyroidism with psychiatric complications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. S. Palia ,
J. Dawkins  and
D. Webb
D. Webb
Affiliation:
Bridgend & District NHS Trust Coity Clinic, Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, Mid-Glam. CF31 1RQ
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Hyper and hypo-parathyroidism both lead to psychiatric disorder. In the former the hypercal-caemia is responsible for an acute or chronic organic reaction, depending on the speed with which the calcium has risen. The hypocalcaemia of the latter is more likely to present as tetany, and enters into the differential diagnosis of hysterical over-breathing (Hill et al, 1987). Hypo-parathyroidism most commonly follows inadvertent parathyroidectomy during thyroiddectomy when an abrupt fall in serum calcium can precipitate psychiatric disturbance. The mental state is closely related to the serum calcium level. If this is borderline there may only be symptoms such as anxiety, depression and tension, but with lower levels acute confusion may result. More chronic symptoms occur in long standing hypo-parathyroidism, such as poor concentration, emotional lability and impaired intelligence (Kendall & Zealley, 1983).

Type
Briefings
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 20 , Issue 10 , October 1996 , pp. 614 - 616
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

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