TASER® Electronic Control Device-Induced Rhabdomyolysis and Renal Failure: A Case Report
HD01-HD02
Correspondence
Dr. James Benjamin Gleason,
Chief Fellow, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Florida,
2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
E-mail: gleasoj@ccf.org
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.