Acute rhabdomyolysis of the soleus muscle induced by a lightning strike: magnetic resonance and scintigraphic findings.
Among natural disasters, a lightning strike is a rare but potentially life-threatening phenomenon. If victims survive a cardiac arrest due to instantaneous passage of an exceptionally high voltage electric charge through the whole body, they may be afflicted with various complications such as muscle necrosis resulting in acute renal failure. In this article, we report a case of a 54-year-old man with acute rhabdomyolysis of the left soleus muscle associated with a lightning strike. T2-weighted and short-tau inversion recovery MR images showed a high signal intensity in the left soleus muscle. A whole-body bone scintigram showed abnormal uptakes in the left soleus muscle and the dorsal aspect of the left foot. MR and scintigraphic evaluations were very useful in depicting the site and extent of muscle damage. Since the patient showed a surprisingly high level of serum creatine kinase, the added information was very valuable for determining the patient's management.
Watanabe
Naofumi
N
Department of Radiology, Asahikawa Medical College, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka-Higashi, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan. naofumi@asahikawa-med.ac.jp
Inaoka
Tsutomu
T
Shuke
Noriyuki
N
Takahashi
Koji
K
Aburano
Tamio
T
Chisato
Naoyuki
N
Nochi
Hitoshi
H
Go
Kazutomo
K
D000208:Acute Disease; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005947:Glucose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D015168:Lightning Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012206:Rhabdomyolysis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D012965:Sodium Chloride; D003402:Creatine Kinase; D005947:Glucose