Obtaining A Rhabdomyolysis Diagnosis

Considered to be a rare condition by many healthcare professionals, rhabdomyolysis is a condition that is constantly being explored to discover more information about the condition. When the disorder is commonly seen in a significant portion of a population, it is typically because some type of disaster has occurred in which falling debris has injured a large number of people. The percentage of the people that are afflicted with the condition in any given year has been less than 1% of the population consistently since the condition was first discovered.

In order for a case of rhabdomyolysis to be positively diagnosed, the doctor will need to perform a battery of tests to indicate whether the symptoms are appearing because of the development of rhabdomyolysis. As many cases of the condition develop quickly, the faster the condition can be positively diagnosed and treatment started the better it will be for the health and well being of the patient. The length of time the symptoms have been present, the specific symptoms that the patient is experiencing, and how severe the symptoms have been are all things that the doctor will need to know in order to make the correct diagnosis.

There are certain situations where is it relatively common for rhabdomyolysis to appear and in these cases, rhabdomyolysis may be suspected as soon as any of the symptoms of the condition appear. When there is a disaster where scores of people are injured, a significant percentage of the people that are injured will develop the condition in the muscles that have been damaged in the disaster. In these cases, rhabdomyolysis is limited to the muscles that were damaged and will not spread to other areas of the body.

There have been some medications linked to the development of rhabdomyolysis as well. A medication created by Bayer, called Baycol, was positively connected to a number of cases where patients had developed rhabdomyolysis that was not localized, meaning that the condition could have affected any muscle in the body, not just the ones injured by falling debris. The association between the medication and the development of rhabdomyolysis was so strong that the US Food and Drug Administration recommended that the medication be taken off of the market because the risks of taking the medication were much higher than the benefits that the person may obtain by taking the medication.

An accurate diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis will typically require the results of a blood test and a urinalysis to be analyzed by a trained medical professional. The blood test will reveal increased or decreased levels of certain chemicals within the blood, including potassium, calcium, and creatine kinase, which will reveal whether the symptoms are being caused by the development of rhabdomyolysis or if there is another reason for the appearance of the symptoms. The urinalysis will also reveal the presence of certain chemicals in high levels that would indicate the development of rhabdomyolysis to the doctor. As soon as the condition has been diagnosed, then the patient may begin treatment to limit the amount of damaged caused by their case of rhabdomyolysis.

Do I Have a Baycol Lawsuit?

If you or a loved one have suffered a serious side effect after taking Baycol, you should contact an Injury Help Network attorney immediately. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries by filing a Baycol lawsuit.

Our group of trial lawyers are handling Rhabdomyolysis, kidney damage/failure and death lawsuits in all 50 states. Please use the form at the bottom of this page to contact a Baycol law firm for a Free Confidential Case Evaluation.