[Two cases of psittacosis accompanied with rhabdomyolysis]

We experienced two cases of atypical pneumonia accompanied with rhabdomyolysis and diagnosed them as psittacosis based on the results of investigation of paired serum samples. Rhabdomyolysis may be associated with some kinds of viral or bacterial infections, but no report was found in the case of psittacosis as far as we searched and such a description was not found in textbooks. Heretofore, the elevation of GOT and LDH as the laboratory findings in psittacosis was considered as the reflection of liver injury, but that might be brought about by rhabdomyolysis. Although the mechanism(s) of the occurrence of rhabdomyolysis in psittacosis is unknown, when the elevation of muscular origin-enzymes including CPK is recognized in cases of atypical pneumonia, it may be the clue of diagnosis of psittacosis.