Hypophosphatemia: cause or consequence?

David Michely

Revue medicale suisse 2022 Sep 28

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Hypophosphatemia has many causes and is defined as a serum phosphate level lower than 0,80 mmol/l. Severe hypophosphatemia (below 0,32 mmol/l) is due to acute cellular shift and concomitant chronic loss. Glucosuria, defined as more than 1,4 mmol/l of glucose in a random urine sample, is less frequently observed, and has only a few causes. We describe a 52-year-old patient with a possible Fanconi syndrome and resulting seizure due to severe hypophosphatemia (0,26 mmol/l), to emphasize the importance of proper diagnostic work-up for hypophosphatemia in seizure, as it can be the consequence (intracellular shift) or the cause of seizure.