Abstract
A 50-year-old man with Behçet’s disease had been treated by 0.5mg/day-3mg/day colchicine for eighteen years. He complained of muscular weakness after taking an increased dose of colchicine (3mg/day) for exacerbation of Behçet’s disease. Laboratory examination showed the presence of rhabdomyolysis with serum creatine kinase of 13396IU/L. He was hospitalized immediately, hydration with intravenous fluids and alkalinization of the urine were initiated, and all medications including colchicine were discontinued. Additional laboratory data revealed complication of hypothyroidism, and thyroxine replacement was started. The muscle disorder and laboratory data were normalized within two weeks. After the recovery, all medications except colchicine were readministrated, but no recurrence was observed. We considered that colchicine was major cause of rhabdomyolysis, and hypothyroidism which might be the result of continuous medication with potassium iodide also played some additional roles as an inducer of rhabdomyolysis.
