clinical features
Last reviewed 09/2021
With milder expressions of the syndrome, the clinical manifestations are subtle. At the other extreme more overt expressions of acute hypocalcaemia may be present:
- increased neuromuscular excitability:
- may cause Chvostek's sign, tetany, carpopedal spasms, laryngeal stridor and convulsions
- mental changes - ranging from irritability to depression and frank psychosis
- neurological signs suggesting an intracranial tumour with elevated CSF pressure e.g. papilloedema
- intracranial calcification visualised by skull radiology - particularly, in the basal ganglia
- calcification of lens, leading to formation of cataracts
- abnormalities of cardiac conduction - mainly prolonged Q-T intervals and T-wave changes
- abnormalities of dentition with defective enamel, dental hypoplasia, and delayed eruption of teeth
- alopecia with premature greying
- chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis is common in autoimmune hypoparathyroidism