Plasmapheresis in a patient with rhabdomyolysis: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular benefits and improved survival have resulted in statins becoming the most prescribed drugs in USA. There is a small but significant risk of developing statin induced rhabdomyolysis especially in combination with other lipid lowering medications for example fibrates like Gemfibrozil. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a case of an 82 year old male patient who developed rhabdomyolysis while taking a combination of Simvastatin and Gemfibrozil and was successfully managed with plasmapheresis. CONCLUSION: There are only a few cases of rhabdomyolysis treated with plasmapheresis reported in literature. Most of the case reports of using this technique in rhabdomyolysis have been from Asia, Australia and Europe. We suggest that plasmapheresis may be considered as an option in severe life threatening rhabdomyolysis.