tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Med J Aust
. 2026 Jul;224(7):e70247.
doi: 10.5694/mja2.70247.
Rhabdomyolysis After COVID-19
Navya Kataria[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Abel Devadass[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lana Sundac[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura De Souza[SUP] 1 3 [/SUP], Nabeel Sheikh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Samantha Ng[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Scott Campbell[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Yishen Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ross S Francis[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
We report a case of a kidney transplant recipient who presented with generalised muscle pain, weakness and brown urine discoloration in the setting of acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Investigations demonstrated rhabdomyolysis with elevated creatine kinase levels and severe acute kidney injury (AKI). A muscle biopsy was consistent with an immune-mediated necrotising myositis. The patient received intravenous fluids, remdesivir and haemodialysis, with subsequent resolution of muscle injury and recovery of kidney function. This case indicates the potential for severe myositis to develop in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection with the potential for rhabdomyolysis and AKI to occur.
Keywords: COVID‐19; immunosuppression; kidney diseases; kidney transplantation; muscular diseases.
. 2026 Jul;224(7):e70247.
doi: 10.5694/mja2.70247.
Rhabdomyolysis After COVID-19
Navya Kataria[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Abel Devadass[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Lana Sundac[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Laura De Souza[SUP] 1 3 [/SUP], Nabeel Sheikh[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Samantha Ng[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Scott Campbell[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP], Yishen Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ross S Francis[SUP] 1 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 42444406
- PMCID: PMC13366141
- DOI: 10.5694/mja2.70247
We report a case of a kidney transplant recipient who presented with generalised muscle pain, weakness and brown urine discoloration in the setting of acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Investigations demonstrated rhabdomyolysis with elevated creatine kinase levels and severe acute kidney injury (AKI). A muscle biopsy was consistent with an immune-mediated necrotising myositis. The patient received intravenous fluids, remdesivir and haemodialysis, with subsequent resolution of muscle injury and recovery of kidney function. This case indicates the potential for severe myositis to develop in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection with the potential for rhabdomyolysis and AKI to occur.
Keywords: COVID‐19; immunosuppression; kidney diseases; kidney transplantation; muscular diseases.