Describe the treatment for osteomalacia

Answer 1

Persons 65 years old and older are at increased risk of osteomalacia due to diets low in calcium and vitamin D, a lack of sun exposure, decreased efficiency in synthesizing vitamin D, and increased incidence of intestinal malabsorption problems. The treatment of osteomalacia should address the underlying causes. Effective treatment of vitamin D deficiency may require a multivitamin providing as much as 20 ?g of vitamin D. Calcium intake should be adequate and may require a supplement providing as much as 1,500–2,000 mg of elemental calcium per day. Patients with severe, longstanding vitamin D deficiency may initially require pharmacologic doses of up to 1,250 ?g per week for 3–12 weeks, followed by maintenance therapy of 20 ?g per day. Patients taking drugs that accelerate hepatic breakdown of vitamin D, and those with intestinal malabsorption problems, will require vitamin D in doses much greater than the RDA. Patients with liver or kidney diseases that prevent the activation of vitamin D into its biologically active form will require a form of vitamin D that is already biologically active, such as calcitriol.