Hypokalemic Rhabdomyolysis without Watery Diarrhea: An Unexpected Presentation of a Pancreatic Neuro-Endocrine Tumor

Abstract

Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) islet cell tumors are usually not associated with a distinct clinical syndrome, although some reports suggest that they can cause a watery diarrhea syndrome similar to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) cell tumors. We report the case of a young woman with an unusual presentation of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor mainly secreting PP. The patient developed a reversible hypokalemic rhabdomyolysis very likely secondary to the presence of the tumor. The myopathy resolved following the restoration of normokaliemia using potassium supplementation and a partial laparoscopic pancreasectomy. Isolated cases of hypokalemic rhabdomyolysis induced by intestinal diseases have been described in literature but these did not include gastroenteropancreatic neoplasms. We suggest that pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors should be added to the list of intestinal diseases capable of producing hypokalemic myopathy.