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What Causes Rhabdomyolysis?
Question: HI, our son awful be 3 on XXXXXXX 1st. Back in December, he was hospitalized for 4 days and received treatment with iv fluids for rhabdomyolysis. He had had a slight child with a fever for about 4 or 5 days before that and then woke up and couldn't walk. We went to the er and he was admitted. When we left, his CPK numbers were in the 200s. We have retested several times and his CPK has never been below 174. He complained of leg pain one night after a day full of activity so we requested a blood test and got his levels tested the next day. The results just came back and his CPK is back in the 200s. Getting really worried. He had not complained about leg pain again and haa been running and walking and everything normal. Will be getting referred to specialist I think. Any ideas??
Brief Answer:
The cause behind rhabdomyolysis needs to be evaluated
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through the details and understand your concerns. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle tissue breaks down rapidly thus releasing breakdown products of damaged muscle cells like CPK (CPK-3 in particular), myoglobin, into the bloodstream. These are harmful to the kidneys and may lead to kidney failure. Rhabdomyolysis itself is not a disease, it is likely to be a manifestation of some underlying cause like problems with blood supply [Arterial thrombosis (blood clots forming locally) or embolism (clots or other debris from elsewhere in the body)], metabolic problems or infections. Other causes of myopathies also need to be evaluated. A specialist opinion would be advisable for the same. However, since the child is seemingly fine, I would insist you to be patient. The CPK levels may take some time to come down.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Dr. Diptanshu Das
The cause behind rhabdomyolysis needs to be evaluated
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through the details and understand your concerns. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle tissue breaks down rapidly thus releasing breakdown products of damaged muscle cells like CPK (CPK-3 in particular), myoglobin, into the bloodstream. These are harmful to the kidneys and may lead to kidney failure. Rhabdomyolysis itself is not a disease, it is likely to be a manifestation of some underlying cause like problems with blood supply [Arterial thrombosis (blood clots forming locally) or embolism (clots or other debris from elsewhere in the body)], metabolic problems or infections. Other causes of myopathies also need to be evaluated. A specialist opinion would be advisable for the same. However, since the child is seemingly fine, I would insist you to be patient. The CPK levels may take some time to come down.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your response! is it normal for cpk levels to take a long time to come back down if the cause was an infection or the flu? He was hospitalized in December 2014.
Brief Answer:
Get the underlying cause of rhabdomyolysis evaluated.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back.
The CPK levels are unlikely to be related to the flu. It may take sometime to come down. But if it lasts this long (Dec-Mar/Apr), I would suggest a deeper look into the underlying cause.
If you found my answer to be helpful, please close the thread with a positive review and a 5 star rating.
Regards
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Get the underlying cause of rhabdomyolysis evaluated.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back.
The CPK levels are unlikely to be related to the flu. It may take sometime to come down. But if it lasts this long (Dec-Mar/Apr), I would suggest a deeper look into the underlying cause.
If you found my answer to be helpful, please close the thread with a positive review and a 5 star rating.
Regards
Dr. Diptanshu Das
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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