Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2010 Aug;83(2):271-3.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.10-0027.

Severe rhabdomyolysis caused by Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Brazilian Amazon

André M Siqueira  1 , Márcia A A Alexandre, Maria P G Mourão, Valquir S Santos, Suely K Nagahashi-Marie, Maria G C Alecrim, Marcus V G Lacerda
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe rhabdomyolysis caused by Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Brazilian Amazon

André M Siqueira et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

Severe rhabdomyolysis (creatine phosphokinase = 29,400 U/L) developed in a 16-year-old boy from Manaus, Brazil, after he started treatment with chloroquine for infection with Plasmodium vivax. Treatment led to myoglobinuria and acute renal failure. After hemodialysis, the patient improved and a muscle biopsy specimen showed no myophosphorylase or deaminase deficiency. This case of rhabdomyolysis associated with P. vivax infection showed no comorbidities. The pathogenesis is still unclear. Although rhabdomyolysis is generally reported as a complication of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, leading to metabolic and renal complications,1 it has been reported in a patient with P. vivax infection with myoadenylate deaminase deficiency.2 We report a case in a patient without typical muscle enzyme deficiencies in which severe rhabdomyolysis developed while the patients was being treated with chloroquine for a confirmed P. vivax infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Davis TM, Pongponratan E, Supanaranond W, Pukrittayakamee S, Helliwell T, Holloway P, White NJ. Skeletal muscle involvement in falciparum malaria: biochemical and ultrastructural study. Clin Infect Dis. 1999;29:831–835. - PubMed
    1. Poels PJ, Dolmans WM, Gabreels FJ. Rhabdomyolysis associated with malaria tertiana in a patient with myoadenylate deaminase deficiency. Trop Geogr Med. 1993;45:83–86. - PubMed
    1. Snounou G, Viriyakosol S, Zhu XP, Jarra W, Pinheiro L, Rosario VE, Thaithong S, Brown KN. High sensitivity of detection of human malaria parasites by the use of nested polymerase chain reaction. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1993;61:315–320. - PubMed
    1. Silva HJ, Goonetilleke AK, Senaratna N, Ramesh N, Jayawickrama US, Jayasinghe KS, Amarasekera LR. Skeletal muscle necrosis in severe falciparum malaria. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988;296:1039. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swash M, Schwartz MS. Malaria myositis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1993;56:1328. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources