Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Rhabdomyolysis in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Infection

Introduction: There is a paucity of studies examining the prevalence and clinical characteristics of rhabdomyolysis in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection. The purpose of this study is to examine the incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcome of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection who develop rhabdomyolysis. Methodology: This is a single-center retrospective analysis of all hospitalized patients with COVID-19 admitted between March 8, 2020, and January 11, 2021. All patients with creatinine kinase (CK) levels available during the hospital admission were included. Rhabdomyolysis was defined as an elevation in CK level higher than five times the upper limit of normal (i.e., 1125 U/L). We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who developed rhabdomyolysis with patients who did not develop rhabdomyolysis. Results: The incidence of rhabdomyolysis in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection was 9.2%. There was no significant difference noted in comorbidities and clinical characteristics between the two groups. Moreover, there was no significant difference noted in the presence of severe COVID-19 infection (72.7% vs 54.6%, p = 0.1), mortality (27.3% vs 23.9%, p = 0.72), acute kidney injury (59.1% vs 42.7%, p = 0.14), or need for intensive care unit (ICU) care (72.7% vs 51.4%, p = 0.051). However, a higher percentage of patients in the rhabdomyolysis group required physical rehabilitation after discharge (40.9% vs 19.3%, p = 0.02). Conclusion: The overall incidence of rhabdomyolysis in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection was high (9.2%). The presence of rhabdomyolysis was not associated with the increased severity of the disease. Patients with rhabdomyolysis more frequently required physical rehabilitation compared to those without rhabdomyolysis.