Primary Myoglobinuria

PRIMARY myoglobinuria is an interesting and, to judge by the literature, a very rare condition, characterized by acute attacks of muscular dysfunction and the passage of dark-red to brown urine. Myoglobinuria may occur in a number of conditions. Whisnant et al.,1 in 1956, classified the myoglobinurias as follows: primary myoglobinuria (similar to equine paroxysmal paralytic myoglobinuria); and secondary myoglobinuria (crush syndrome, high-voltage shock, arterial occlusion with ischemia, Haff disease, progressive muscular dystrophy [?J and myositis [?]). The secondary myoglobinurias are better known than the primary type and will not be discussed in detail in this article, but a few points . . .