Diagnosaurus
Muscle cramps or tetany
DDx
Nocturnal leg cramps
- Idiopathic
- Diabetes
- Parkinson’s disease
- CNS or spinal cord disease
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Hemodialysis
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Pregnancy
- Drugs: cisplatin, vincristine
- Muscle injury, eg, sports
- Dehydration
- Hypocalcemia, hypokalemia, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, hyperkalemia, hypermagnesemia
- Alkalosis (eg, vomiting, hyperventilation)
- Vascular insufficiency (claudication)
- Restless leg syndrome
- Dystonia
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypothyroidism
- Celiac disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Black widow spider bite
- McArdle’s disease (muscle fatigue, cramping, high CK)
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Last updated: December 1, 2014
Citation
Zeiger, Roni F.. "Muscle Cramps or Tetany." Diagnosaurus, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/Diagnosaurus/114297/all/Muscle_cramps_or_tetany.
Zeiger RFR. Muscle cramps or tetany. Diagnosaurus. McGraw-Hill Education; 2014. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/Diagnosaurus/114297/all/Muscle_cramps_or_tetany. Accessed May 14, 2025.
Zeiger, R. F. (2014). Muscle cramps or tetany. In Diagnosaurus (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/Diagnosaurus/114297/all/Muscle_cramps_or_tetany
Zeiger RFR. Muscle Cramps or Tetany [Internet]. In: Diagnosaurus. McGraw-Hill Education; 2014. [cited 2025 May 14]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/Diagnosaurus/114297/all/Muscle_cramps_or_tetany.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Muscle cramps or tetany
ID - 114297
A1 - Zeiger,Roni F,
Y1 - 2014/12/01/
BT - Diagnosaurus
UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/Diagnosaurus/114297/all/Muscle_cramps_or_tetany
PB - McGraw-Hill Education
ET - 4
DB - Emergency Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
