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Published on: January 18, 2011
A Retrospective Analysis of Crayfish-Related Rhabdomyolysis (Haff Disease)
Changbao Huang1, Liangfei Peng1, Nengkai Gong1
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, China.
Insights
Haff disease, a form of rhabdomyolysis, can cause severe muscle pain and weakness after eating crayfish. Fortunately, this condition typically presents with mild symptoms and has a favorable prognosis, with all patients recovering.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Toxicology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Haff disease is a rare condition characterized by rhabdomyolysis, often linked to consuming specific seafood.
- Understanding the epidemiological and etiological factors is crucial for public health.
- Previous studies on crayfish-associated Haff disease are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the epidemiologic and etiologic factors of crayfish-related rhabdomyolysis (Haff disease).
- To describe the clinical features, therapeutic regimen, and prognosis of Haff disease.
- To analyze a cluster of Haff disease cases linked to crayfish consumption.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of clinical data from 29 patients diagnosed with Haff disease between July and August 2016.
- Summarization of clinical characteristics, including onset, symptoms, and laboratory findings.
- Evaluation of treatment strategies and patient outcomes.
Main Results:
- The study identified 29 cases of Haff disease following cooked crayfish consumption, with an incubation period of 1-48 hours.
- Patients presented with severe myalgia (100%), weakness, numbness, chest tightness, and pain.
- Elevated creatine kinase (CK) and CK-MB levels were observed, with no significant hepatorenal damage; all patients recovered fully.
Conclusions:
- Crayfish-related rhabdomyolysis (Haff disease) presents as severe myalgia or weakness of unknown etiology.
- Despite severe initial symptoms, the clinical presentation is relatively mild with a favorable outcome.
- Prompt recognition and supportive care are essential for managing Haff disease.
Objective:
To investigate the epidemiologic and etiologic factors, clinical features, therapeutic regimen, and prognosis of crayfish-related rhabdomyolysis (Haff disease).
Methods:
Retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 29 patients with crayfish-related rhabdomyolysis (Haff disease) from July to August 2016, summarized the clinical characteristics, and evaluated the prognosis.
Results:
Clinical data of a total of 29 cases of Haff disease were retrospectively analyzed. The disease onset occurred after consumption of cooked crayfish with the incubation period ranging from 1 h to 48 h. There were no gender differences and significantly elevated CK in the duration with peak value of 41575.0U/L; the median value was 2445.0U/L (range: from 1187.0 U/L to 4722.0 U/L) and there was coincident elevated CK-MB. There was also no hepatorenal damage and transient urinalysis was abnormal. The most common presenting symptoms were myalgia (100%), weakness and numbness (51.7%), chest tightness and chest pain (41.4%), back pain (41.4%), and extremities pain (37.9%). All the patients recovered and no patients died.
Conclusions:
Crayfish-related rhabdomyolysis (Haff disease) is a kind of a case or cluster of patients present with severe myalgia or weakness of unknown etiology and mechanism disease; however, the clinical signs and symptoms are relatively mild with favorable outcome.
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