Case report: Severe rhabdomyolysis caused by Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Severe rhabdomyolysis (creatine Phosphokinase = 29,400U/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. Copyright © 2010 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.