Chhabra, PuneetRana, Surinder S.Sharma, VishalSharma, RaviBhasin, Deepak K.Background Hypocalcemia is a marker of poor prognosis in acute pancreatitis (AP) but the prognostic significance of hypocalcemic tetany in patients with AP has not been studied. We aimed to determine the prognostic significance of hypocalcemic tetany in patients with AP.Methods Consecutive patients of AP who presented within 7 days of symptoms were included. Serum calcium levels were measured on admission and the patients were divided into two groups based on the presence (group 1) or absence of hypocalcemia (group 2). Chvostek and Trousseau signs were sought in all patients with hypocalcemia and the outcome measures were compared between patients with normocalcemia, asymptomatic and symptomatic hypocalcemia (tetany). The outcome parameters assessed were persistent organ failure (POF), need for intervention, and mortality.Results Of 105 patients (53 male; mean age 37.34±12.62 years), 37 (35.2%) had hypocalcemia (group 1) and 68 (64.8%) had normal corrected serum calcium levels (group 2). Patients with hypocalcemia had significantly higher frequency of POF, mortality and need for intervention (P<0.05). Twelve of 37 (32.4%) patients with hypocalcemia had tetany. Patients with tetany had significantly lower serum corrected calcium and ionized calcium levels compared with patients with asymptomatic hypocalcemia (P<0.05). Patients with tetany had significantly higher mortality rates compared with patients with asymptomatic hypocalcemia (100% vs. 8%; P=0.00001) as well as POF (100% vs. 32%; P=0.000006).Conclusion Presence of hypocalcemic tetany in AP patients bears a poor prognosis and is associated with increased mortality.Keywords Hypocalcemia, tetany, acute pancreatitisAnn Gastroenterol 2016; 29 (2): 214-220DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20524/aog.2016.0015text/htmlapplication/pdfapplication/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.documenthttp://www.annalsgastro.gr/index.php/annalsgastro/article/view/2513engHellenic Society of Gastroenterology1792-74631108-7471Annals of Gastroenterology; Volume 29, No 2 (2016); 214Hypocalcemic tetany: a simple bedside marker of poor outcome in acute pancreatitisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion2016-03-31Δημοσίευση σε περιοδικόPublication in journalΓαστροεντερολογίαGastroenterologyisi -Gastroenterology & Hepatology covers resources on the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology of the digestive system. This category includes specific resources on the prognosis and treatment of digestive diseases; stomach ulcers; metabolic, genetic, infectious and chemically induced diseases of the liver; colitis; diseases of the pancreas and diseases of the rectum.Επιστημονικό άρθροScientific articleΕλληνική Γαστροεντερολογική ΕταιρίαGreek Aggregator OpenArchives.gr | National Documentation Centre (EKT)other