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Case Reports
. 2016 Nov;17(6):801-804.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2016.8.31255. Epub 2016 Nov 2.

Rapid Diagnosis of Rhabdomyolysis with Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Alicia Nassar  1 , Richard Talbot  2 , Ashley Grant  2 , Charlotte Derr  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Rapid Diagnosis of Rhabdomyolysis with Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Alicia Nassar et al. West J Emerg Med. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

It is important to rapidly diagnosis and treat rhabdomyolysis in order to decrease morbidity and mortality. To date there are no reports in the emergency medicine literature on the use of point-of-care ultrasound in the diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis. This unique case describes how ultrasound was used in the emergency department (ED) to quickly diagnose and treat rhabdomyolysis prior to confirmation with an elevated serum creatine kinase. When coupled with a high index of suspicion, ultrasound can be one of the most portable, readily available, low cost, and minimally invasive techniques for making a rapid diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis in the ED.

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Conflict of interest statement

By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transverse image of rhabdomyolysis of the right biceps muscles using a linear array transducer. Areas of increased and decreased echogenicity are seen, as well as disorganized muscle fibers within surroundings areas of fluid. The arrowhead is pointing towards the disorganized muscle fibers. The open arrow is pointing to areas of fluid. The closed arrow is pointing to areas of decreased echogenicity. The star is indicating the areas of hyperechogenicity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transverse image of a normal left biceps muscle (B) and brachialis muscle (Br) using a linear array transducer. Normal skeletal muscle has a relatively hypoechoic echotexture with clearly demarcated linear hyperechoic strands of fibroadipose septa (arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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