Myoglobin Serum

Your healthcare practitioner may order a myoglobin serum test if you have severe muscle damage as in the case of trauma or a condition called muscular dystrophy. 

This test also helps in analysing the level of muscle damage. Some of the symptoms of muscle injury include:

• Fever
• Muscle pain
• Fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting
• Belly pain
• Dark-coloured urine

 Excessive myoglobin in serum may need to be flushed out of the body at the earliest. So, a myoglobin serum test will help the doctor to determine whether you require treatment right away.

In certain cases, this test may be used to check if a person has recently suffered a heart attack. However, since myoglobin is also found in skeletal muscles, a troponin test is needed for confirmation.

You don’t have to do any specific preparation for this test. Inform your doctor about all the medicines, vitamins and supplements that you may be taking, including any over-the-counter medications or illegal drugs. Certain medications and heavy drinking may affect the test results. Do not stop the use of your prescription medications unless the doctor advises you to do so. Strenuous exercise before the test may also affect the results.

A laboratory technician will draw a small quantity of blood from a vein in your arm using a needle. 

You may feel a brief stinging sensation when the needle is inserted. Collecting a blood sample has minor risks of temporary lightheadedness and localised bruising. If you notice an infection at the needle insertion site or feel persistent discomfort, please talk to your doctor.

Normal results: 

Normally, myoglobin levels in the blood are in the range of 25 to 72 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL). 

The test results may show a slight variation depending on the age, health history, gender and test method. Talk to your doctor to understand your results. 

Abnormal results: 

High myoglobin levels in the blood indicate the presence of muscle damage but do not show where the damage took place. Your doctor will order other tests to confirm the diagnosis. However, the higher the myoglobin levels, the more serious the condition is. 

This muscle damage could be due to:

• Muscular dystrophy
• Surgery
• Coma
• Certain infections and poisons
• Unusually strenuous exercise

High myoglobin levels can also be caused by the following conditions:

• Shock
• Kidney failure
• Malignant hyperthermia, an inherited condition in which the body temperature rises rapidly and muscles contract when you are under general anaesthesia
• Accidents that result in muscle trauma
• Seizures 
• Inflammation of the skeletal muscles
• Heart attack

Lower results in the myoglobin serum test may indicate:

• Antibodies to myoglobin in your blood
• Myasthenia gravis (a muscular disorder that causes weakness of skeletal muscles)
• Rheumatoid arthritis

Disclaimer: All results must be clinically correlated with the patient’s complaints to make a complete and accurate diagnosis. The above information is provided from a purely educational point of view and is in no way a substitute for medical advice by a qualified doctor.