Rhabdomyolysis among critically ill combat casualties: Associations with acute kidney injury and mortality.

Background: Rhabdomyolysis has been associated with poor outcomes in patients with traumatic injury, especially in the setting of acute kidney injury (AKI). However, rhabdomyolysis has not been systematically examined in a large cohort of combat casualties injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of casualties injured during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan who were initially admitted to the intensive care unit from February 1, 2002, to February 1, 2011.