Background: Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially life-threatening syndrome characterized by the breakdown of skeletal muscle fibers resulting in the release of proteins into general circulation. Common practice for diagnosing exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is using biochemical markers for muscle damage; creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin (Mb) are proteins detected in the bloodstream after muscle injury or trauma. Serum creatinine is the best biochemical marker for calculating renal function. Measuring GFR is not common when assessing ER.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to help predict ER.
Methods: Ninety-three athletes volunteered for the research study. Participants were asked to give blood three times throughout a competitive season.
Results: Overall, Mb and GFR were lower than normal value and creatinine and CK were higher than normal value. In addition, neither CK nor Mb can predict GFR.
Conclusions: The major finding of the current study is that the predicting GFR and ER is a difficult task. In addition, baseline levels of CK and Mb could be higher than normal values in college athletes
