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 combined with alkali (magnesium oxide, sodium bicarbonate and bismuth subcarbonate), the doctors write in Sage Open Medical Case Reports.

The regime was eventually linked to side effects such as light-headedness, headache, nausea and vomiting, with a retrospective review later identifying all patients developed hypercalcaemia, renal impairment and azotaemia.