Urine in cola colour, Mumbai man rushes to hospital; diagnosed with muscle breakdown

MUMBAI: Vikhroli resident Dr Kunal Bansode had no intention of breaking his New Year resolution to "restart gymming", and he began where he left the healthy habit seven months back: by lifting 50 kg weights.

The first 2 days - Jan 14 and 15 - were fine, but on the third day, he had to break off gymming once again as his muscles ached and he felt unable to move steadily. It was not until he noticed his urine colour that he panicked and rushed to his workplace in Mulund to get admitted. "My urine was cola colour, which is a classic sign of rhabdomyolysis, or muscle breakdown," he said.

Exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, which Bansode was diagnosed with, is uncommon. Hence, nephrologist Dr Vaibhav Keskar from Fortis Hospital (Mulund) was surprised to see three young patients, including Bansode, in a month's period.

"When muscles are suddenly subjected to heavy strain, for example, someone doing too many squats without being used to that level of intensity, the muscle cells can get damaged," he said. Substances in the damaged cells, particularly a protein called myoglobin, leak into the bloodstream. "Myoglobin can be toxic to kidney tubules and may temporarily impair kidney function," said Dr Keskar.

While there is all-round concern about the rising incidence of long-term chronic kidney disease across India on World Kidney Day (March 12), mainly due to a surge in diabetes and hypertension, Dr Keskar said that better awareness is needed to prevent acute (but temporary) kidney injuries such as rhabdomyolysis.

It is to prevent such kidney problems that nephrologist Dr Bharat Shah inaugurated a clinic in Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, to focus on the preventive aspects of kidney disease. "We need to educate people, especially those with diabetes, hypertension and obesity, on how to take care of their kidneys so that they will not suffer from chronic kidney disease," he said.

Dr Shah said that while it is estimated that 2.5 lakh new cases of chronic kidney disease are diagnosed across India every year, barely 5% of the patients seek treatment. "Our patient load is likely to be higher," he said.

In Mumbai, there are at least 4,000 people with end-stage kidney disease who registered for a kidney transplant, but the wait period is four to five years.

Meanwhile, Dr Bansode's kidney function gradually returned to normal after rhabdomyolysis. He is back working in Fortis Hospital's ICU. "I still go to the gym, but now I pace myself."