Open AccessTASER ® Electronic Control Device- Induced Rhabdomyolysis and Renal Failure: A Case Report
Author(s) -
James Benjamin Gleason,
Ibrahim A. Ahmad
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of clinical and diagnostic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2249-782X
pISSN - 0973-709X
DOI - 10.7860/jcdr/2015/15465.6608
Subject(s) - rhabdomyolysis , medicine , medical emergency , poison control , law enforcement , occupational safety and health , emergency medicine , surgery , political science , pathology , law
Many law enforcement agencies around the United States are employing the use of TASER(®) electronic control devices (TASER(®) International Inc.) to subdue combative suspects. Since its inception the TASER(®) has had a temporal association with reports of rhabdomyolysis. Case reports have reported TASER(®) induced rhabdomyolysis as mild but serious cases have also been reported. Herein we present the case of a single patient who was admitted to our health network with severe rhabdomyolysis after receiving TASER(®) shocks and review the pertinent literature. No direct link has been established between clinically significant rhabdomyolysis and TASER(®) device application but this case serves as an example of a sparsely documented but serious complication that may occur in patients who are at risk for restraint by an electronic control device.