Anaphylaxis: An Uncommon Cause of Rhabdomyolysis-Related Acute Kidney Injury

Abstract

Anaphylaxis is an acute, severe, and potentially lethal form of an allergic reaction. It can lead to a sepsis-like syndrome and multisystem involvement with complications. It can cause distributive shock with preferential blood supply to vital organs, at the expense of blood supply to skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle ischemia leads to the fast depletion of myocyte energy source and a cascade of inflammatory reactions leading to myocyte injury and death. Myocyte lysis or rhabdomyolysis releases the cellular contents into circulation. Rhabdomyolysis is not an oft-discussed complication of anaphylaxis. We describe a 21-year-old male with no known comorbidity who presented with anaphylactic shock after consuming one tablet paracetamol + ibuprofen and was found to have rhabdomyolysis-related acute kidney injury.