Rhabdomyolysis:
Causes and Symptoms
The
life threatening syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury is known as rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis results from the death of muscle
fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This can lead to
serious complications such as renal failure. The kidneys cannot remove waste
and concentrated urine in case of renal failure. Rhabdomyolysis can even leads to
death in rare cases. However, for a good outcome prompt treatment is required.
Symptoms:
The
initial symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include: fatigue, low urine output, muscle
weakness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, agitation, infrequent urination and
fever.
The
complications of rhabdomyolysis include very high levels of potassium in the
blood. That can leads to an irregular
heartbeat or cardiac arrest, kidney damage (which occurs in
up to half of patients), rarely liver damage. After fluid resuscitation a
condition called compartment syndrome may also occur. Due to serious compression
of nerves, muscles, and blood vessels can cause tissue damage and problems with
blood flow.
Causes of
rhabdomyolysis:
Trauma,
exertion, and heat: The causes include a crush injury, a heatstroke, blocked
blood vessels, a lightning strike, pathological muscle exertion and car
accident.
Metabolic
and genetic disorders: Rhabdomyolysis can be developed in some people because
of genetic conditions such as problems with metabolism of: lipids, or fats,
carbohydrates.
Metabolic
problems includes: hypothyroidism or low thyroid hormone levels, diabetic
ketoacidosis
Genetic
disorders include: a carnitine deficiency, a lactate dehydrogenase deficiency, infection and inflammation, duchenne muscular dystrophy.
The
infection and inflammation can cause rhabdomyolysis, including: viral
infections, bacterial infections, polymyositis, dermatomyositis and snakebites.
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