Energy drink-induced acute kidney injury: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Nephrotoxic insults are among the most common causes of acute kidney injuries. The offending drug or agent should be defined swiftly and must be stopped. In some situations, the culprit agent may not be obvious. Energy drink consumption has reportedly increased in recent years, with ads claiming that energy drinks strengthen physical and mental performance. However, when consumed in uncontrolled amounts, they may have negative effects on health. An energy drink-induced acute kidney injury is reported in this case presentation. There have been only four similar cases in the literature.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 21-year-old male patient of Turkish origin applied to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, and malaise. He was admitted, because the laboratory values revealed that he had stage 3 acute kidney injury. He did not have any medical or surgical histories. He did not use any drugs, but he stated that he has consumed 2 L of an energy drink product per day for the past month. Differential diagnosis work-up pointed to an energy drink-induced acute kidney injury. His serum creatinine increased to a level as high as 10.32 mg/dL, but he did not need any renal replacement therapy. Creatinine levels normalized in about 2 weeks after withholding energy drinks.

CONCLUSION

Depending on their content and consumption amount, energy drinks may cause acute kidney injury. There have been four previous cases in the literature and they were reviewed for a comparison with this case.