Severe hypercalcemia as a harbinger of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CASE: An 8-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a history of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tiredness, and weight loss of 18 lb over 3 weeks. The only significant examination finding was moderate dehydration. She was found to have severe hypercalcemia (serum calcium, 20 mg/dL). The complete blood count was normal. She was treated successfully for hypercalcemia with hyperhydration, furosemide, calcitonin, and pamidronate. A few days later, she developed pancytopenia when her bone marrow biopsy specimen established the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CONCLUSIONS: Hypercalcemia presents with nonspecific symptoms of nausea, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, constipation, and tiredness. It can be a harbinger of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Normal complete blood cell count at presentation does not exclude the diagnosis of leukemia.