title: Acute rhabdomyolysis of the soleus muscle induced by a lightning strike: magnetic resonance and scintigraphic findings.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Asahikawa Medical College, 2-1-1-1 Midorigaoka-Higashi, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan. naofumi@asahikawa-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Naofumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inaoka
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shuke
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Tamio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aburano
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chisato
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nochi
authors.forename: Kazutomo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Go
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D003402:Creatine Kinase; D005947:Glucose