Dawaa Reference

chronic

Hypercalcemia (Evaluation & Urgent Referral)

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources4 sources

Endocrine Society Guidelines · Egyptian National Drug Formulary - Cardiovascular 2024 (furosemide monograph) · Hypercalcemia - disease-level clinical article (hypercalcemia-referral-full.txt) · Zometa 4 mg/5 ml concentrate for solution for infusion (zoledronic acid) SmPC sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 (eMC product 12753, emc-zometa-4mg-zoledronic-acid.txt)

Verified against3 documents
  • Egyptian National Drug Formulary - Cardiovascular 2024 (furosemide monograph)
  • Hypercalcemia - disease-level clinical article (hypercalcemia-referral-full.txt)
  • Zometa 4 mg/5 ml concentrate for solution for infusion (zoledronic acid) SmPC sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 (eMC product 12753, emc-zometa-4mg-zoledronic-acid.txt)

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (5)

  • Above 12 mg/dL, patients typically develop excess urination and thirst, constipation, weakness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, poor appetite, and confusion [confusion · constipation · fatigue · nausea · poor appetite · vomiting]
  • Severe hypercalcemia can progress to stupor or coma [coma · stupor]
  • Long-standing elevated calcium can cause kidney stones, pancreatitis, and peptic ulcers [kidney stones]
  • When due to hyperparathyroidism, patients may present with fractures from bone thinning
  • It is often found incidentally on blood work drawn for another reason

Signs — what you find (4)

  • The physical exam can be entirely normal
  • Pulse exam can reveal an abnormal heart rate or rhythm, and deep tendon reflexes may be reduced
  • Muscle tone may be reduced with generalized pain on musculoskeletal exam
  • The ECG can show a shortened QT interval, prolonged PR interval, and widened QRS complex

Tests (7)

  • Calcium of 10.5 to 11.9 mg/dL counts as mild, 12.0 to 13.9 mg/dL as moderate, and 14.0 to 16.0 mg/dL marks a crisis level
  • A parathyroid hormone level is the key test to determine whether the process is PTH-driven or not
  • A 24-hour urine calcium test distinguishes hyperparathyroidism, which has high urinary calcium, from familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, which has low urinary calcium
  • When PTH is suppressed, work-up turns to drug causes, immobilization, malignancy, granulomatous disease, and endocrine disorders
  • Renal ultrasound can show stones that have formed from chronic hypercalcemia
  • A DEXA bone density scan may reveal osteoporosis from underlying primary hyperparathyroidism
  • Thyroid or parathyroid ultrasound can detect a parathyroid adenoma; a negative scan may prompt a nuclear or four-dimensional CT scan instead

If not this — what else fits (3)

  • Dehydration can be told apart by dry mouth, dry skin, poor skin turgor, a fast pulse, low blood pressure, and reduced urine output
  • Polyuria from uncontrolled diabetes reflects osmotic diuresis, while diabetes insipidus causes polyuria through water diuresis with a high sodium
  • Acute polyuria can also stem from a urinary tract infection or low potassium

SourceStatPearls "Hypercalcemia" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

Rx: Main treatment | Acute lowering in hospital - fastest of the options, and the shortest-lived | Hypercalcaemia of malignancy - the sustained treatment, given with the fluids and the calcitonin | Only when the cause is lymphoma or granulomatous disease

MAIN TREATMENT

1

RECOGNISE AND REFER URGENTLY (EMERGENCY REFERRAL)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Hypercalcaemia is graded by how ill the patient is, not only by the number. SEVERE OR SYMPTOMATIC HYPERCALCAEMIA IS AN EMERGENCY - confusion, drowsiness, vomiting, dehydration, arrhythmia - and goes to hospital the same day for intravenous fluids and calcium-lowering treatment. A mild, incidental rise is worked up: repeat the adjusted calcium, check PTH, and look for the cause. The article frames treatment as three simultaneous aims: drive more calcium out of the extracellular fluid, let less of it in from the gut, and slow its release from bone. - Same-day referral when severe or symptomatic

Dose source

Hypercalcemia - disease-level clinical article (hypercalcemia-referral-full.txt)

Why

Hypercalcaemia is graded by how ill the patient is, not only by the number. SEVERE OR SYMPTOMATIC HYPERCALCAEMIA IS AN EMERGENCY - confusion, drowsiness, vomiting, dehydration, arrhythmia - and goes to hospital the same day for intravenous fluids and calcium-lowering treatment. A mild, incidental rise is worked up: repeat the adjusted calcium, check PTH, and look for the cause. The article frames treatment as three simultaneous aims: drive more calcium out of the extracellular fluid, let less of it in from the gut, and slow its release from bone.

Cautions
  • RED FLAG - The manifestations of severe hypercalcemic crisis include life-threatening arrhythmias (bradycardia, heart block) and altered mental status (stupor, coma).
  • The drug rows on this card are the hospital's sequence, not a primary-care prescription: fluids first, calcitonin for the first two days because it works within hours, a bisphosphonate for the sustained fall, and a steroid only where the cause is lymphoma or granulomatous disease. They are here so the referring doctor knows what is being sent for and can recognise it afterwards.
  • FLUIDS COME FIRST, AND ARE NOT LISTED HERE AS A TREATMENT ROW. A patient with a high calcium is usually volume-depleted and needs intravenous fluid; the article's standard is 0.9% saline, run until the urine output is adequate and the patient is no longer dry. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) No rate is stated by the article - it is titrated to urine output - and the saline infusion label carries no hypercalcaemia indication, so no dose is printed here rather than one being invented. This is a hospital intervention.
  • Dialysis is the fallback - with a low-calcium or calcium-free bath, it is kept for severe hypercalcaemia with renal failure, or for a patient who cannot take the intravenous fluid.
  • Treat the cause, not just the number. The causes are many, so alongside bringing the calcium down acutely the underlying condition has to be found and treated if the result is to last. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) Where that cause is primary hyperparathyroidism, the patient is assessed against the surgical criteria for parathyroidectomy. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714)

ACUTE LOWERING IN HOSPITAL - FASTEST OF THE OPTIONS, AND THE SHORTEST-LIVED

2

CALCITONIN

Acute lowering in hospital - fastest of the options, and the shortest-lived

1st line

Forminjection

Adult dose and duration

4 units/kg by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection every 12 hours. It works within about 2 hours, which is why it is given first, and its effect lasts only about 4 to 7 days, which is why it is given WITH a bisphosphonate rather than instead of one. - A few days only - tachyphylaxis limits it to about 4 to 7 days, by which time the bisphosphonate has taken effect

Paediatric dose

The dose is 4 units per kilogram every 12 hours, which is weight-based but is stated in international units and not in milligrams, so it cannot be carried in the weight-dose fields. Paediatric hypercalcaemia is a specialist emergency; the article states no separate paediatric regimen.

Dose source

Hypercalcemia - disease-level clinical article (hypercalcemia-referral-full.txt)

Why

Calcitonin is the fast-acting step in a metabolic emergency that has a well-defined drug sequence. The article carries route, dose and interval in one sentence, so a single document discharges both claims: give it by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, 4 units/kg, repeated every 12 hours, to bring a high calcium down quickly. Registered in Egypt as ampoules for injection (CALCITONIUM 100 IU/mL, MIACALCIC). The card still sends the patient in; the row is what the receiving team gives, so the referring doctor knows the sequence and can recognise it.

Cautions
  • THIS IS AN EMERGENCY DRUG GIVEN IN HOSPITAL, alongside fluids and a bisphosphonate - not something started in a clinic while waiting for a bed.
  • It buys time, it does not hold. Calcitonin starts working as soon as 2 hours after it is given, but the effect lasts only about 4 to 7 days, which rules it out as long-term treatment. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) It is usually paired with something else that lowers calcium, to keep the level down. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714)
  • FLUIDS COME FIRST, AND ARE NOT LISTED HERE AS A TREATMENT ROW. A patient with a high calcium is usually volume-depleted and needs intravenous fluid; the article's standard is 0.9% saline, run until the urine output is adequate and the patient is no longer dry. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) No rate is stated by the article - it is titrated to urine output - and the saline infusion label carries no hypercalcaemia indication, so no dose is printed here rather than one being invented. This is a hospital intervention.
  • Replace the other electrolytes too. A high calcium often travels with a low potassium, a low magnesium and a low phosphate; each of them is replaced back to a normal level. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714)
  • Treat the cause, not just the number. The causes are many, so alongside bringing the calcium down acutely the underlying condition has to be found and treated if the result is to last. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) Where that cause is primary hyperparathyroidism, the patient is assessed against the surgical criteria for parathyroidectomy. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714)
Egyptian brands
Egyptian brandManufacturerIndicative price
MIACALCIC 50 I.U/ML 5 AMPS. FOR I.M./I.V./S.C INJ.NOVARTIS76.00 EGP
CALCITONIUM 50 I.U./ML 5 AMPS.ACDIMA INTERNATIONAL TRADING87.50 EGP
CALCITONIUM 100 I.U./ML 5 AMPS.ACDIMA INTERNATIONAL TRADING155.00 EGP
MIACALCIC 100 I.U/ML 5 AMPS. FOR I.M./I.V./S.C INJ.NOVARTIS > PHARMA OVER SEAS375.00 EGP

HYPERCALCAEMIA OF MALIGNANCY - THE SUSTAINED TREATMENT, GIVEN WITH THE FLUIDS AND THE CALCITONIN

3

ZOLEDRONIC ACID

Hypercalcaemia of malignancy - the sustained treatment, given with the fluids and the calcitonin

1st line

Strength4 mg

Forminjection

Adult dose and duration

A SINGLE 4 mg intravenous dose, diluted in 100 mL and infused over NO LESS THAN 15 minutes, in a separate line. Label's threshold: albumin-corrected serum calcium of 12.0 mg/dL (3.0 mmol/L) or above. It takes about 3 days to bring the calcium down, which is why calcitonin and fluids run alongside it. - One dose; repeat only on specialist advice

Paediatric dose

An adult indication. The label's hypercalcaemia dose is written for adults and older people; no paediatric hypercalcaemia dose is stated. Paediatric hypercalcaemia is a specialist emergency.

Dose source

Zometa 4 mg/5 ml concentrate for solution for infusion (zoledronic acid) SmPC sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 (eMC product 12753, emc-zometa-4mg-zoledronic-acid.txt)

Why

The article names the class and then picks inside it: pamidronate and zoledronic acid both hold approval for hypercalcaemia of malignancy, and of the two, zoledronic acid is the more effective. The approved label carries the matching indication - tumour-induced hypercalcaemia in adults - and the dose. Nine Egyptian products are registered, from 360 EGP a vial, and the only pamidronate product in the register is cancelled - so the article's preferred agent is also the one Egypt actually stocks.

Cautions
  • HYDRATE FIRST AND KEEP HYDRATING. The patient must be well hydrated before Zometa is given, and kept so afterwards. Giving a bisphosphonate to a dry patient risks the kidney.
  • NO LESS THAN 15 MINUTES, and never mixed with calcium-containing fluids. The 4 mg concentrate is diluted further in 100 ml (SmPC section 6.6) and given as a single intravenous infusion over no less than 15 minutes.
  • CONTRAINDICATED: hypersensitivity to zoledronic acid, to another bisphosphonate, or to any excipient in the product (SmPC section 6.1); and breast-feeding (section 4.6).
  • Who gives it: only a health professional experienced in giving intravenous bisphosphonates may prescribe it or administer it.
  • Watch the calcium overshoot. Once Zometa is started, follow the serum calcium, phosphate and magnesium closely; if any of the three falls too low, a short course of replacement may be needed.
  • Kidney: in tumour-induced hypercalcaemia with severe renal impairment, weigh the risk against the benefit before treating at all. Where the serum creatinine is under 400 micromol/l, or under 4.5 mg/dl, no dose change is needed (SmPC section 4.4).
  • Osteonecrosis of the jaw. Where other risk factors are present, a dental examination with preventive dentistry and an individual weighing of benefit against risk is advised before any bisphosphonate is started. Every patient should be urged to keep the mouth clean, attend routine dental check-ups, and report at once a loose tooth, pain or swelling, or a sore or discharge that will not heal, while they are on Zometa.
  • It is slow. A bisphosphonate takes around 3 days to bring the calcium back into range, so it is given together with fluid and calcitonin, which lower the calcium immediately while the bisphosphonate takes hold.
  • Denosumab is the other first-line agent in malignancy and carries NO DOSE here - the article names it, alongside bisphosphonates and hydration, as first-line for hypercalcaemia of malignancy, but states no dose for it, and no document held here doses it for hypercalcaemia, so none is printed. It is registered in Egypt (XGEVA, PROLIA).
Egyptian brands
Egyptian brandManufacturerIndicative price
ZOLEDRONIC ACID FRESENIUS KABI 4MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALFRESENIUS KABI360.00 EGP
OSTEOZOMET 4MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALGLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES > PENTA PHARMA650.00 EGP
SUNNYSHIFT 4 MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALSUNNY PHARMACEUTICALS650.00 EGP
METADRONIC 4MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALGLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES813.00 EGP
BONEIMC 4MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALHIKMA SPECIALIZED PHARMACEUTICALS997.00 EGP
ZOMETA 4MG/5ML CONC. SOLN. FOR I.V. INF. VIALNOVARTIS2161.00 EGP

ONLY WHEN THE CAUSE IS LYMPHOMA OR GRANULOMATOUS DISEASE

4

PREDNISONE

Only when the cause is lymphoma or granulomatous disease

2nd line

Strength5 mg

Formoral.solid

Adult dose and duration

20 to 40 mg orally daily. This is a cause-specific treatment, not a general calcium-lowering drug: it works in lymphoma and in granulomatous disease (sarcoidosis, tuberculosis) because those raise calcium by making calcitriol, and it does nothing for hyperparathyroidism or for most hypercalcaemia of malignancy. - Decided by the specialist treating the underlying disease; the article states no course length

Paediatric dose

The article states no paediatric dose. Hypercalcaemia in a child is a specialist emergency and its cause is investigated before any steroid is given.

Dose source

Hypercalcemia - disease-level clinical article (hypercalcemia-referral-full.txt)

Why

The one calcium-lowering drug here that is given by mouth and outside an acute admission, and the article ties its indication to its dose in a single sentence: where lymphoma or a granulomatous disease is what has raised the calcium, prednisone by mouth at 20-40 mg daily shuts down calcitriol production and the calcium falls. The generic is written as PREDNISONE and not prednisolone: they are different molecules, the document says prednisone, and Egypt registers one prednisone product (HOSTACORTIN 5 mg, 12 EGP for 30 tablets). Swapping to the far commoner prednisolone would be a substitution the document does not make.

Cautions
  • WRONG CAUSE, WRONG DRUG. This is only for hypercalcaemia caused by lymphoma or granulomatous disease. It does not lower calcium in primary hyperparathyroidism, and it is not the treatment for hypercalcaemia of malignancy generally.
  • Do not start it before the cause is known - a steroid given blind can obscure a lymphoma on the biopsy that has not been taken yet, and it treats tuberculosis-related hypercalcaemia while the tuberculosis itself goes untreated.
  • The article names a further option in the same family, working the same way: ketoconazole blocks 1-alpha-hydroxylase in macrophages and so lowers active vitamin D. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) No dose is stated for it there and none is printed here.
  • FLUIDS COME FIRST, AND ARE NOT LISTED HERE AS A TREATMENT ROW. A patient with a high calcium is usually volume-depleted and needs intravenous fluid; the article's standard is 0.9% saline, run until the urine output is adequate and the patient is no longer dry. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) No rate is stated by the article - it is titrated to urine output - and the saline infusion label carries no hypercalcaemia indication, so no dose is printed here rather than one being invented. This is a hospital intervention.
  • Treat the cause, not just the number. The causes are many, so alongside bringing the calcium down acutely the underlying condition has to be found and treated if the result is to last. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714) Where that cause is primary hyperparathyroidism, the patient is assessed against the surgical criteria for parathyroidectomy. (Hypercalcemia - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf, NBK430714)
Egyptian brands
Egyptian brandManufacturerIndicative price
HOSTACORTIN 5MG 30 TAB.SANOFI AVENTIS > SANOFI12.00 EGP (0.40/unit)

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.