Vitamin D Hydroxylation-deficient Rickets Type 1A Misdiagnosed as Normocalcemic Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Abstract

Abstract Vitamin D hydroxylation-deficient rickets type 1A is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants in CYP27B1 gene, which encodes for 1α-hydroxylase, the enzyme responsible for the conversion of 25-OH vitamin D into its active form 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D. We report the case of a 3-year-old female Mexican patient with growth retardation and progressive bone deformity, whose laboratory studies showed 25-OH vitamin D deficiency, a normal serum calcium and an elevated intact parathyroid hormone level that remained high despite calcitriol, cholecalciferol, and calcium supplementation. 99mTc sestamibi gammagram showed findings suggestive of parathyroid hyperplasia. Bone histomorphometry showed an image consistent with hyperparathyroidism without findings of osteomalacia, so normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism was suspected and a subtotal parathyroidectomy was performed, with the patient developing postoperative hypoparathyroidism. When she arrived at our clinic at age 18 years, she showed calcium- and calcitriol-dependent hypocalcemia, with secondary hyperparathyroidism and low levels of 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D in the absence of a 25-OH vitamin D deficiency, reflecting a defect in 1α-hydroxylation. Molecular testing revealed compound heterozygous variants in CYP27B1 gene. This is the first reported case of an inherited disorder of vitamin D metabolism that was diagnosed and surgically treated as primary hyperparathyroidism.