Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Two cats with primary hyperparathyroidism causing high calcium
By den Hertog, E et al.·Published in The veterinary quarterly·1997·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Primary hyperparathyroidism in two cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old and a 13-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat were brought in for symptoms like lethargy, not eating, and vomiting. Both cats had high calcium levels in their blood due to a condition called primary hyperparathyroidism, which is rare in cats. After ruling out other causes, the vets performed neck surgery to remove a growth on the parathyroid gland in one cat, while the other cat had high parathyroid hormone levels but no visible mass. After surgery, both cats had normal calcium and phosphate levels and recovered well without any complications.
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Abstract
Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is an infrequently diagnosed disorder in cats. In this report the signs and symptoms of two cats with hypercalcaemia due to PHP are described, together with diagnostic approach, results of treatment, and immunohistochemical findings. A 9-year-old and a 13-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat were presented with signs of lethargy, anorexia, and vomiting. Both cats had persistent hypercalcaemia and normo- to hypophosphataemia. Cytological examination of a fine-needle aspiration biopsy sample of a palpable cervical mass revealed groups of benign glandular-epithelial cells in one cat. In the other cat no cervical mass was palpable. In this cat plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured repeatedly and these values exceeded the maximum reference value on two occasions. Following exclusion of other causes of hypercalcaemia both cats were subjected to neck surgery and in both a solitary parathyroid adenoma was removed. The adenomas contained an abundance of PTH, as demonstrated by immunohistochemical techniques. Plasma calcium and phosphate concentrations returned to within, reference ranges postoperatively. Recovery was uncomplicated and there were no signs of recurrence on follow-up examinations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9225438/