Clinical chemistry
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We report two pediatric cases of rhabdomyolysis. This disease involves the destruction of skeletal muscle, which can present with myalgia and a brown-pigmented urine. ⋯ Evidence of rhabdomyolysis in both patients included dark, o-tolidine-positive urine, granular casts in the urinary sediment, and grossly increased activities of creatine kinase (greater than 60 000 U/L) in serum. An uncommonly recognized entity in the pediatric age group, rhabdomyolysis often presents as an acute disease with severe onset but can be diagnosed with relatively simple laboratory tests.