Acute Paraspinal Compartment Syndrome Related to Use of Proprietary Weight Loss Product, by a Patient with Sodium Channelopathy

Jenny L Lauschke,Gabor Major

doi:10.4172/2165-7939.s7-001

Abstract

Paraspinal compartment syndrome is a rare cause of lower back pain that remains under-recognized and under-treated and which can result in prolonged and debilitating pain. We present the case of a young female with paramyotonia congenita due to sodium chanelopathy, who developed acute paraspinal compartment syndrome after ingestion of an ephedrine containing proprietary weight loss product. We highlight the challenges in diagnosis and management and review potential precipitating factors and mechanisms underlying the clinical features.

Highlights

Acute compartment syndrome is a well described entity that can occur in any closed fibro-osseous space and is common in the lower limb compartments
Acute compartment syndrome involving the paraspinal muscle is a rare cause of back pain where the classic signs and symptoms may be ill-defined, resulting in under recognition and treatment
In this report we present the case of a young female with paramyotonia congenita who sustained acute exertional spinal compartment syndrome following use of Xenadrine®, a caffeine and ephedrine containing proprietary weight loss product

Summary

Introduction

Acute compartment syndrome is a well described entity that can occur in any closed fibro-osseous space and is common in the lower limb compartments. In this report we present the case of a young female with paramyotonia congenita who sustained acute exertional spinal compartment syndrome following use of Xenadrine®, a caffeine and ephedrine containing proprietary weight loss product. On further history the patient revealed that she attends the gym 4-5 times per week and had been using Xenadrine®, a proprietary “thermogenic weight loss” product containing the herbs Ma Huang (ephedrine) and Guarana (caffeine), in the weeks preceding the incident She reported minimal alcohol consumption and continued to characterise the exercise preceding the onset of her back pain. Lumbar paraspinal and left buttock firmness and tenderness were noted and a markedly decreased range of active and passive movements in lumbar spine and hip due to pain She complained of persistent paraesthesiae over her lower back and buttocks with a burning radiation into the left thigh. The sensory impairment in the lumbar region and buttocks remained unchanged

Discussion

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Conclusion