Pancreatitis secondary to hyperparathyroidism during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND

It has been suggested that magnesium can be used to reduce serum calcium levels seen with hyperparathyroidism during pregnancy, thus reducing maternal and fetal risk.

CASE

A young woman presented at 32 weeks' gestation with abdominal pain from pancreatitis caused by hyperparathyroidism from a parathyroid adenoma. She was started on magnesium sulfate tocolysis for preterm labor. During treatment, serum parathyroid hormone was undetectable, but serum calcium and vitamin D-1,25 were elevated. When magnesium was discontinued, her vitamin D-1,25 was suppressed and the parathyroid hormone was elevated.

CONCLUSION

For some patients, because of persistent hypercalcemia, magnesium sulfate might not be a viable treatment option for hyperparathyroidism during pregnancy.