Abstract
Osteomalacia belongs to the metabolic osteopathies and is characterized by a mineralization disorder of the newly formed osteoid. The etiology of the disease is broad and includes congenital and acquired causes.
These causes usually lead to a lack of mineralization substrates (calcium, phosphates) or to an impaired mineralization process. In practice, the clinical picture of osteomalacia can be incomplete, and the laboratory picture can include a wide range of deviations.
For these reasons, the diagnosis of osteomalacia may be delayed or mistaken for another skeletal pathology. Osteomalacia is routinely included in the differential diagnosis when low bone density is found, although it is less common in clinical practice compared to osteoporosis.
The treatment of the disease depends on the underlying cause, and with the correct diagnosis, a full cure can occur. We present a case report of a patient from a standard inpatient ward, in whom the diagnosis of osteomalacia was not clear.
The case report includes a 75-year-old cachectic patient with malnourished osteomalacia with unrecognized chronic pancreatitis.