Treatments Options for Rhabdomyolysis
If discovered early in its progression, rhabdomyolysis can be successfully treated without long-term damage to the kidneys.
Fluid Recovery
Getting enough fluid into the body is the first and most important treatment. Intravenous (IV) fluids—a saline solution given through a needle in your arm—must be started very quickly. This fluid should contain bicarbonate, which helps combat acid in the blood due to the muscle injury. Bicarbonate also helps flush the myoglobin out of the kidneys.
Medication
Medications such as bicarbonate and certain kinds of diuretics may be prescribed as well to help the kidneys keep functioning.
High potassium levels in the blood (hyperkalemia) and low blood calcium levels (hypocalcemia) may also be treated with appropriate IV fluids.
Dialysis
If kidney damage and acute renal failure have already started, you may need to receive dialysis. Dialysis is also called “extracorporeal blood purification.” Blood is taken out of the body and cleaned in a special machine in order to remove extra sodium, potassium, phosphates, and other waste products.
Part 6 of 7: Outlook
What Can Be Expected in the Long Term?
Long-term outlook depends on the extent of damage to your kidneys. If rhabdomyolysis is caught early, you may be able to avoid major complications and return to normal health in a few weeks. Even then, however, you may still have some lingering weakness and pain in your muscles.
If acute renal failure and kidney damage occur, there is a chance that your kidneys may be permanently damaged.
If you develop compartment syndrome, you may have permanent extensive muscle damage.
Several of the symptoms and complications of rhabdomyolysis are very serious and may result in death if left untreated.
Part 7 of 7: Complications
Potential Complications of Rhabdomyolysis
One serious complication of rhabdomyolysis is kidney damage, such as acute tubular necrosis (damage to the tubular cells in the kidneys). This kind of damage leads to acute renal (kidney) failure. When the kidneys no longer function, toxins and waste products build up in the blood and can poison you.
Imbalances of electrolytes, such as potassium and calcium, can damage cells throughout the body, including the heart. Heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat) and even cardiac arrest can occur from these imbalances.
Hepatic inflammation (swelling in the liver) occurs in 25 percent of patients with rhabdomyolysis. This can lead to liver damage and additional problems with filtering toxins from the blood.
Disseminated intravascular coagulation is a possible complication of rhabdomyolysis. In this disorder, proteins that cause blood to clot become overactive. This causes tiny clots to form all over the body. Some of these clots can plug the vessels and cut off blood supply to various organs such as the liver, brain, or kidney.
Compartment syndrome occurs when swelling inside of injured muscles causes the muscle fascia (tight bands around the muscle) to tighten. This chokes off blood supply to those muscles and can permanently destroy muscle tissue.