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 combined with alkali