Oral calcium-loading test in rickets and in neonatal tetany: effect of vitamin D.

In an oral calcium-loading test performed on 10 infants with vitamin-D deficiency rickets and low fasting calcium levels, a comparison of results before and after therapy showed that vitamin D raised the serum calcium level at each stage of the test and altered the response so that a more rapid and substantial rise and fall in serum calcium occurred.The effects of vitamin D therapy on newborn infants with hypocalcaemic hyperphosphataemic tetany in another study suggests that these infants should be treated in this way to make them more responsive to oral calcium therapy.