Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with high blood calcium after stopping steroid treatment
By Nakamura, Momoko et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2004·Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hypercalcemia in a dog with resolution of iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old spayed Pug was brought to the vet with skin issues, including crusty spots and ulcers. She had been on long-term steroid treatment for a suspected skin condition, which led to a diagnosis of iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome (a condition caused by excessive steroid use). After gradually stopping the steroids, she developed dangerously high calcium levels and unfortunately passed away from kidney failure. The cause of her high calcium levels wasn't clear, but it might have been related to the calcified skin lesions.
People also search for: dog skin ulcers treatment · Pug Cushing's syndrome symptoms · high calcium levels in dogs causes
Abstract
A six-year-old spayed Pug was presented with crust formation and ulcer on the skin. The patient had received long-term glucocorticoid therapy for treatment of tentatively diagnosed panniculitis. Severe calcification and pyoderma was observed and the patient was diagnosed with iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome and predonisolone was gradually withdrawn. After the withdrawal, the patient developed marked hypercalcemia (15.3 mg/dl) and finally died from renal failure. It is postulated that the eluted calcium from the calcified lesions may have contributed to the high serum calcium level as the underlying disease was not identified on necropsy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15107569/