Open AccessCalciphylaxis due to metastatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma
Author(s) -
Summia Matin Afridi,
Ahmad Raja,
Xiaoxia Zhou,
Akriti G Jain
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr-2019-230951
Subject(s) - medicine , calciphylaxis , cellulitis , malignancy , differential diagnosis , metastatic carcinoma , surgery , biopsy , parathyroid carcinoma , dermatology , carcinoma , disease , pathology
A 70-year-old man with history of metastatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma was presented to the hospital with a painful left lower extremity ulcer which started around 3 months prior to presentation. He was treated with antibiotics for cellulitis on multiple occasions with no improvement in his symptoms. On initial laboratory evaluation, he was found to have acute kidney injury and a normal calcium level. The patient underwent a skin biopsy and was found to have cellulitis and calciphylaxis of small-sized and medium-sized vessels. Since the patient did not have any underlying risk factors of calciphylaxis, the most likely cause of his calciphylaxis was thought to be his underlying malignancy. Physicians should keep this differential in mind while treating non-healing ulcers in such patients since they are at higher risk of superimposed infections and usually require aggressive wound care.