Man develops acute hypercalcaemia after taking too many antacids
Doctors say the case is not unusual and warn of the return of 'milk-alkali syndrome'
An elderly man has developed acute hypercalcaemia after downing antacids for reflux, in a case doctors say highlights the return of an old syndrome as patients increasingly take calcium carbonate supplements.
US doctors are reporting the case to alert GPs to the re-emergence of the so-called 'milk-alkali syndrome', which is characterised by hypercalcaemia, metabolic acidosis and renal failure.
The syndrome stems back to the 1920s, when peptic ulcer disease was treated with milk and cream
