title: Rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury associated with hypothyroidism and statin therapy.
abstract: Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome involving the breakdown of skeletal muscle that causes myoglobin and other intracellular proteins to leak into the circulatory system, resulting in organ injury including acute kidney injury. We report a case of statin-induced rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury that developed in a 63-year-old woman with previously undiagnosed hypothyroidism. Untreated hypothyroidism may have caused her hypercholesterolemia requiring statin treatment, and it is postulated that statin-induced muscle injury was aggravated by hypothyroidism resulting in her full-blown rhabdomyolysis. Although this patient was successfully treated with continuous venovenous hemofiltration and L-thyroxin replacement, rhabdomyolysis with acute kidney injury is a potentially life-threatening disorder. Physicians must pay special attention to the possible presence of subclinical hypothyroidism when administering statins in patients with hypercholesterolemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Pyoung
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung-Mu
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung-Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong, Korea.
authors.forename: Ja-Ryong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Koo
keywords: Hypothyroidism; Rhabdomyolysis; Statins