Hypocalcemia in Acute Gastroenteritis (A Case-Control Study at Department of Internal Medicine)

2 Abstract: Objective: To determine the serum calcium level in adult patients with acute gastroenteritis Patients and Methods: This descriptive type cross sectional study was conducted at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad Sindh, Pakistan. All patients above 12 years of age, of either gender present with history of acute diarrhea were further evaluated for their serum calcium status. The control group was selected for statistical comparative purpose; the data was recorded in pre-design proforma and analyzed in SPSS version 11.00. Result: Sixty six (66) subjects in each group were studies, of which 72(55%) were males and 60 (45%) were females, the mean age was 36.76±13.40. The hypocalcemia was observed in 75 (57%) patients while the serum calcium was normal in 57(43%) patients. Majority of subjects 92 (70%) belonged to urban areas. The mean±SD of serum calcium level in patients with acute gastroenteritis was 6.8455 ± 1.8266 mg/dL while the mean±SD of serum calcium in control group was 9.2167 ± 0.4534 mg/dL respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: The low serum calcium level (hypocalciemia) was identified in patients with acute gastroenteritis.