Calcitriol is used to treat and prevent low levels of calcium and bone disease in patients whose kidneys or parathyroid glands (glands in the neck that release natural substances to control the amount of calcium in the blood) are not working normally. It is also used to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism (a condition in which the body produces too much parathyroid hormone [PTH; a natural substance needed to control the amount of calcium in the blood]) and metabolic bone disease in people with kidney disease. Calcitriol is in a class of medications called vitamin D analogs. It works by helping the body to use more of the calcium found in foods or supplements and regulating the body's production of parathyroid hormone.
