Study of incidence of hypocalcemia in infants admitted with seizures in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: During growth, bone mass increases faster than the body weight, which results in increased demand of calcium. Hypocalcemia, seen in postneonatal infants, is related to poor oral intake, low level of Vitamin-D, familial causes, sepsis, and multiorgan failure. Objective: The objective of this study was to study the incidence of hypocalcemia in infants admitted with seizures. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in infants of age 1 month–1 year, presenting with seizures. Details about age, sex, dietary history, exposure to sunlight, birth order, gestational age, type of seizures, its duration, and frequency were noted. All relevant clinical investigations were done. Results: A total of 54 infants were enrolled according to the study design among which, 19 patients (35.15%) had hypocalcemic seizures while 16 of them were below 6 months of age having increased alkaline phosphatase level and low serum phosphorus level which corresponds to Vitamin-D deficiency. The second common cause was febrile seizures 25.92% (n=14) and rest were of infective etiology. Conclusion: Hypocalcemia is a very common cause of seizures in infants and its association with Vitamin-D deficiency should be seen in every case.