Rhabdomyolysis without acute kidney injury as the initial presentation of COVID-19 infection in an adult with sickle cell trait.

Publication date: Jul 08, 2025

A 20-y-old male with sickle cell trait presented with 5 days of bilateral thigh pain and soreness, without history of trauma or strenuous activity. He had elevated creatine kinase (56,179 U/L) and troponin-T (322 ng/L) levels. Nasopharyngeal swab PCR was positive for SARS-CoV-2. He presented early and had adequate fluid resuscitation during the initial phase of illness that prevented acute kidney injury and facilitated his early recovery. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the fifth case of acute rhabdomyolysis associated with COVID-19 and sickle cell trait reported in the literature, and is a less severe presentation compared with previous reports.

Semantics

Original Article