 | This article reads like a textbook. (February 2020) |
| Crush syndrome | |
|---|---|
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| Collapsed building from 1985 Mexico earthquake. Earthquakes are a main cause of crush syndrome injuries. | |
| Specialty | Emergency medicine  |
| Complications | Kidney failure |
Crush syndrome (also traumatic rhabdomyolysis or Bywaters' syndrome) is a medical condition characterized by major shock and kidney failure after a crushing injury to skeletal muscle. Crush injury is compression of the arms, legs, or other parts of the body that causes muscle swelling and/or neurological disturbances in the affected areas of the body, while crush syndrome is a localized crush injury with systemic manifestations.[1] Cases occur commonly in catastrophes such as earthquakes, to individuals that have been trapped under fallen or moving masonry.
People with crushing damage present some of the greatest challenges in field medicine, and may need a physician's attention on the site of their injury. Appropriate physiological preparation of the injured is mandatory.[2] It may be possible to free the patient without amputation; however, field amputations may be necessary in drastic situations.
- ^ "Blast Injuries: Crush Injury & Crush Syndrome" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-01-19.
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