title: Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure after fire ant bites.
abstract: We describe a 59-year-old patient who developed acute renal failure because of rhabdomyolysis after extensive red fire ant bites. This case illustrates a serious systemic reaction that may occur from fire ant bites. Consistent with the clinical presentation in rhabdomyolysis associated with non-traumatic causes, hyperkalemia, hypophosphatemia, hypocalcemia, and high anion gap acidosis were not observed in this patient. While local allergic reactions to fire ant bites are described in the literature, serious systemic complications with rhabdomyolysis and renal failure have not been previously reported. It is our effort to alert the medical community of the possibility of such a complication that can occur in the victims of fire ant bites.
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine Residency Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Montgomery, AL 36116, USA. koya@uab.edu
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koya
authors.forename: Daryl
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crenshaw
authors.forename: Anupam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012206:Rhabdomyolysis / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine