Idiopathic Benign Hyper-CK-Emia

It is not uncommon for a rheumatologist to get a request for evaluating a patient with persistent elevation of serum creatine (phospho) kinase (CK) level (hyper-CK-emia) especially if this laboratory abnormality is persistent. We present a descriptive analysis of 16 consecutive adult patients seen with a condition called idiopathic benign hyper-CK-emia at a tertiary care Rheumatology Clinic in Bismarck, North Dakota. This condition is well described in the medical literature but unfortunately is not recognized very often by the primary care physicians especially its benign course. A short review of literature is also presented. To the best of our knowledge this is the first such report on this condition from the state of North Dakota.