Acute respiratory distress syndrome driven by severe hypercalcemia and acute kidney injury: A case report and literature review of a rare, life-threatening complication

Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rare and under-reported complication of hypercalcemia, which often presents in conjunction with acute kidney injury (AKI). Unfamiliarity with the condition inevitably leads to management uncertainty, resulting in fatal outcomes. Early identification, however, confers a good prognosis. We report a case of a 40-year-old male who presented with severe hypercalcemia and AKI and rapidly deteriorated due to ARDS, with no evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary edema or fluid overload. Infection screens were negative. He died despite invasive ventilation and continuous venous-venous hemofiltration. His autopsy revealed extensive metastatic pulmonary calcifications and alveolar edema. We found only 10 other cases of hypercalcemia-induced ARDS in the literature, with only 2 patients surviving. We provide the first literature review on the subject to guide the management of this rare but fatal complication, which can be managed with good outcomes if considered early.

Keywords: acute kidney injury; acute respiratory distress syndrome; extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation support; hypercalcemia; parathyroid adenoma; parathyroidectomy; respiratory failure.