Pattern of glomerular disease in Nepal: A single-center experience.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in Nepal. The aim of the present study is to determine the clinical presentation and histological pattern of GN with and without immunofluorescence (IF). It is a retrospective analysis of all GN patients with kidney biopsy at the Bir Hospital from January 2000 to April 2009. The clinical presentation, blood pressure, urine analysis, 24-h urinary protein, biochemistry, hemoglobin, antinuclear antibody, anti-ds DNA, light microscopy (LM) and IF findings of kidney biopsies were computed from hospital records. SPSS package was used for analysis. A total of 398 patients [LM 204 (51%) and LM plus IF 194 (49%] were analyzed. The mean age of the study patients was 28 ± 13.6 years (range 7-74); males comprised 52.8% and females 47.2% of the patients; 51% were between 16 and 30 years of age. The common clinical presentations included nephrotic syndrome (NS), seen in 69% of the patients, followed by acute nephritic syndrome, seen in 14.4% of the patients. Kidney biopsy without IF showed mesangial proliferative GN (MesPGN) in 21.1%, membranoproliferative GN (MPGN) in 18.6%, membranous nephropathy (MN) in 14.2%, minimal change disease (MCD) in 12.3% and focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 9.8% of the cases. With IF, MCD was seen in 23.2%, FSGS in 18%, MN in 11.9%, IgA nephropathy in 9.8%, MesPGN in 8.2%, MPGN in 4.1% and crescentic GN in 3.1% of the cases. Lupus nephritis in the cases GN was most common in young adults, with the majority presenting with NS. MCD and FSGS were the most common glomerular lesions; over-diagnosis of MesPGN and MPGN by LM could be due to exclusion of IgA nephropathy.

Severe electrolyte abnormalities and paralytic ileus complicating delirium tremens.

Pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmias represent the most common life-threatening complications during delirium tremens. Electrolyte abnormalities are common underlying conditions in chronic alcoholics and they may further complicate the management of patients with alcohol-withdrawal syndrome or with delirium tremens. The authors present two cases in which the clinical picture of severe paralytic ileus complicating delirium tremens was closely associated with electrolyte status and postulate that the two were cause-effect related. A careful electrolyte supplement therapy guided by a strict monitoring of electrolyte balance and renal function proved to be particularly useful in successful management.

Difficulty in estimating localized bowel contraction by colonic manometry: a simultaneous recording of intraluminal pressure and luminal calibre.

To examine whether or not intraluminal pressure changes at a site in the human colon reflect with fidelity the local bowel wall contractions or relaxation, endoscopic recording of the changes in colonic calibre as a parameter of the motor events with simultaneous manometry was performed at a fixed site in a prepared sigmoid colon during the interdigestive state. In four of the 12 subjects, a total of 20 phasic pressure waves with an amplitude of 13-22 mmHg and a duration of 13-18 sec were obtained in a 20 min recording session. Eighteen of the 20 phasic pressure waves (90%) were associated not with a decrease (contraction) but with an increase in the calibre (relaxation). The pressure change began 0.2-8.4 sec (mean: 4.5 sec) behind and ended-1.8 to 8 sec (mean: 3.5 sec) ahead of the calibre change. In the other eight subjects, no phasic pressure change was recorded in the presence of an overt calibre change. We conclude that manometric phasic pressure change recorded at a site in the empty human colon is not necessarily correlated with the localized contractile activity. Extrapolation of pressure profiles in the colon to motor events at the manometric site should be cautious.

rho-Shaped anastomosis: a reconstruction of the alimentary tract after total gastrectomy.

One hundred sixty-four patients underwent total gastrectomy with a rho-shaped jejunal food pouch (rho loop) and roux-en-Y jejunojejunostomy. The rate of postoperative complications was very low (9.1 per cent), and the most important problem of anastomotic failure was never encountered. Only 4 of 164 patients (2.4 per cent) died within one month of surgery, and the causes of death were pneumonia (2 patients), cerebral hemorrhage (1), and ileus (1). The function of the newly constructed passage was estimated through an elaborate barium meal examination. The test revealed that the rho-shaped jejunal food pouch has adequate reservoir and mixing functions for ingested foodstuff. No reflux of barium meal into the esophagus was observed during the examination. In a follow-up study of the patients, only a few complained of symptoms of reflux esophagitis or dumping, but none of them needed any treatment.

Regurgitant bile acids and mucosal injury of the gastric remnant after partial gastrectomy.

Three groups, each consisting of seven patients who had undergone either Billroth I, Billroth II, or pylorus-preserving gastrectomies, were evaluated more than 18 months postoperatively in terms of concentration and amount of bile acids in the gastric aspirate and histologic changes in the gastric remnant mucosa. Concentrations of bile acids were determined by gas chromatography and mucosal specimens were obtained by endoscopic biopsy. The total bile acid concentration and all of the individual fractional bile acid levels, whether free or conjugated, were significantly higher in the Billroth II group than in the other two groups. The amount of gastric aspirate was also highest in the Billroth II group. Endoscopic biopsy revealed glandular dysplasia to be predominantly in the Billroth II group. The presence of bile acids in the gastric remnant may contribute to mucosal injury, possibly leading to cancer in the gastric remnant, especially after the Billroth II operation.

Anemia-inducing factor expressed in gastric cancer is homologous with complement regulatory factor CD59?

Anemia-inducing factor (AIF) was isolated from gastric cancer tissue; however, the human placenta used as the volume of AIF for further analysis did not prove sufficient. This substance was named placental anemia-inducing factor (PAIF). PAIF directly reduces the number of erythrocytes in vitro and reduces the RBC count in rabbits to 80% when i.v. administration of 27 microg/kg of body weight is given. The aim of this study is to better define PAIF and to examine whether the identifical substance expresses on either the surface or in the cytoplasm of established gastric cancer cell lines. PAIF is a glycoprotein with about 20 KD, whose 17 amino acid residues of N terminus were sequenced after Edman treatment. The N-terminus of PAIF were determined as Lqcyncpnptadcktav. This is homologous with that of CD59, which is thought as a regulator of membrane attack complex of complement system. Expression of PAF or CD59 in four established gastric cancer cell lines were examined by indirect immunofluorescence method and by Northern blot hybridization. The cells (1 x 106) were seeded into plastic plates for three days and reacted overnight at 4 degrees C in 0.5 ml of PBS with anti-PAIF polyclonal antibody or with anti CD59 rat monoclonal antibody. Both PAIF and CD59 were stained positively on the surface and/or in the cyroplasm. The total RNAs were prepared from the four kinds of cell lines and normal human lymphocytes. CD59 mRNA was probed in all cell lines by BamH1-EcoR1 fragment of PSRa CD59. The signal levels of MKN-28, MKN-45 and KATO-III were stronger than that of MKN-74, whereas the signal of normal lymphocytes was the lowest. Although there is no decisive evidence that PAIF is exactly the same substance as CD59, and although the biological functions of these two substances are conflictive, and still to be further investigated, the 17 amino acid residues of N-terminus of PAIF expressed in gastric cancer cells were homologous with those of CD59. A derivative of CD59 may exist in gastric cancer.

ERCP in the assessment of patients with post-cholecystectomy syndrome: benefits and limitations.

The aim of our study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy yielded by endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) in a group of 41 patients presenting with persistent or recurrent abdominal pain and/or cholestasis following cholecystectomy. Each patient had previously undergone, without success, a different combination of non-invasive tests. Cannulation with adequate opacification of at least one duct was achieved in all patients. Aetiologically diagnostic findings obtained with ERCP were as follows: normal 36.8%, choledocholithiasis 34%, benign biliary stenosis 9.8%, chronic pancreatitis 4.9%, pancreatic carcinoma 2.4%, ampullary carcinoma 2.4%, cholangiocarcinoma 2.4%, miscellaneous 7.3%. ERCP gave a final diagnosis in 26 patients (63%) and in all the cases presenting with cholestasis. ERCP plays a first-line role in the diagnostic assessment of patients with the post-cholecystectomy syndrome. However, there is still a considerable part of this population in whom ERCP does not contribute to a diagnosis.

[Continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP) therapy in advanced gastric cancer].

In CHPP therapy for advanced gastric cancer, a perfusate containing 20 mg CDDP and 8 mg MMC in 1,000 ml physiologic saline warmed at 47 degrees C was infused at a constant rate of 200 ml/min into the pouch of Douglas. The intraperitoneal temperature at the supra-pancreatic region was around 39.0 degrees C. To obtain a more stable and higher intraperitoneal temperature, the infusing rate was increased to 400 ml/min. This yielded a 3 degrees C higher temperature (42 degrees C) at the same measuring site. However, the temperature recorded at various intraperitoneal sites did not always reach such an effective range. The maximal plasma concentrations of MMC determined during CHPP at the 200 and 400 ml/min infusion were 0.09 +/- 0.03 and 0.11 +/- 0.03 microgram/ml, and those of CDDP 1.6 +/- 0.4 and 1.7 +/- 0.3 microgram/ml, respectively, all of which were not significantly different. When an intraperitoneal dosage of 20 mg MMC was given to 3 patients, the portal venous blood, at 10 min after the administration, produced a 1.7 times higher concentration of the agent than did the peripheral venous blood. This discrepancy between the two concentrations was much smaller than found by other investigators in animal experiments.

[Total body hyperthermia and continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion as an adjuvant therapy in advanced gastric cancer].

Between September 1986 and July 1989, adjuvant hyperthermic therapy, consisting of either total body hyperthermia (TBHT) or continuous hyperthermic peritoneal perfusion (CHPP), was given to a total of 41 patients immediately following gastric resection for cancer. TBHT was performed in 1 curative- and 11 noncurative-gastrectomized patients (1 stage III and 11 stage IV), and CHPP in 18 curative- and 11 noncurative-gastrectomized patients (6 stage I/II, 10 stage III and 13 stage IV). For TBHT, the blood was warmed and maintained at 42 degrees C for 3 hours by means of a V-V bypass connected to an extracorporeal heater-pumping system. When the hyperthermic condition was established, anti-cancer drugs were administered intravenously. In CHPP, 46 degrees C saline containing anti-cancer drugs were infused at a constant rate through a tube placed at the Douglas fossa. The perfusate was drained out through another tube positioned at an uppermost part of the abdominal cavity. The hyperthermic condition was monitored by measuring the outflow temperature. Complications encountered were bone marrow depression, liver damage and pyrexia, and were more frequently experienced by the TBHT patients. Patients under 65 years of age who had had an absolute noncurative gastrectomy but with TBHT survived significantly longer than those without TBHT. When the patients who had undergone gastrectomy with CHPP for a cancer of more than se penetration were compared with those without CHPP, there was no significant difference in survival found between these two populations. This unsatisfactory result could be partly attributable to difficult maintenance of appropriate (sufficiently high) and constant perfusate temperature.

[An experimental study on development of gallstone disease after curative gastrectomy for cancer--postoperative alteration of the composition of canine gallbladder bile after subtotal gastrectomy with truncal vagotomy].

In connection with gallstone (GS) formation after gastrectomy for cancer, we examined alteration of the composition of gallbladder bile after subtotal gastrectomy with truncal vagotomy. Of 11 mongrel dogs with cholecystostomy, 3 underwent B-I and 4 B-II gastrectomy. Four dogs without gastrectomy were served as controls. Bile was collected for 12 months. Bile acids were quantified by GLC. The bile was cultured for bacteriology. TBA did not significantly differ among the three groups of the dogs. In the two gastrectomized groups, CDA (a secondary bile acid) kept a higher level and CA (a primary bile acid) maintained a lower concentration compared with those in the controls. A remarkable increase of non-conjugated bile acids was recognized in both gastrectomized groups. Lithogenicity was low for all of the 3 groups. All but 1 control dog incurred bile infection that persisted long. Black pigment stones containing calcium bilirubinate developed in 1 of the 3 B-I and 2 of the 4 B-II dogs but none in the controls. The bile infection seemed to be involved in the development of GS. As the alteration of bile composition and GS occurred solely in the gastrectomized dogs, subtotal gastrectomy with truncal vagotomy might precipitate the GS formation.

Favorable outcome in atheroembolic renal disease with pulse steroid therapy.

Atheroembolic renal disease is characterized by renal failure secondary to occlusion of renal vasculature by cholesterol containing atheromatous plaques. Clinical presentations of this disease entity are myriad, with limited therapeutic options and unfavorable outcomes. This report describes an elderly male patient with peripheral vascular disease who developed acute renal failure during hospital admission for rectal bleed, and was diagnosed with atheroembolic renal disease on renal biopsy. The patient was managed with pulse steroid therapy and had a favorable outcome.

Lambda light chain myeloma with oliguric cast nephropathy and remission with bortezomib, doxorubicin and dexamethasone.

Cast nephropathy is one of the major causes of renal failure in patients with multiple myeloma resulting from precipitation of free light chains inside the tubules. Timely diagnosis and treatment confers a better prognosis though around 10% of patients with cast nephropathy remain dialysis dependent in spite of treatment. We report the clinical course and outcome of a patient presenting with acute kidney injury and oliguria, preceded by acute gastroenteritis and intake of Chinese medications and dialysis dependent state for eight weeks. Kidney biopsy revealed cast nephropathy with lambda light chain restriction and severe tubular injury. Serum protein electrophoresis was normal with no "M spike" but serum free light chain ratio was altered with very high lambda and normal kappa light chain levels. Bone marrow biopsy showed >85% atypical plasma cells. Haemodialysis was continued and chemotherapy with bortezomib, doxorubicin and dexamethasone was started. Kidney function gradually improved with discontinuation of dialysis after 1 month and complete remission of acute kidney injury and myeloma in 4 months of chemotherapy.

Pure red cell aplasia caused by Parvo B19 virus in a kidney transplant recipient.

Parvo B19 is a single stranded DNA virus, which typically has affinity for erythroid progenitor cells in the bone marrow and produces a severe form of anemia known as pure red cell aplasia. This condition is particularly worse in immunocompromised individuals. We herein report a young Nepali male who developed severe and persistent anaemia after kidney transplantation while being on immunosuppressive therapy. His bone marrow examination revealed morphological changes of pure red cell aplasia, caused by parvovirus B19. The IgM antibody against the virus was positive and the virus was detected by polymerase chain reaction in the blood. He was managed with intravenous immunoglobulin. He responded well to the treatment and has normal hemoglobin levels three months post treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such case report from Nepal.

Acute intradialytic complications in end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Hemodialysis is the preferred method of treatment for Nepalese patients with end stage renal disease. Despite the technological advances and better understanding of physiology associated with hemodialysis, a number of complications are known to be associated with hemodialysis. This study was undertaken to study the frequency of acute intradialytic complications in patients undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Nephrology unit of a tertiary care hospital from 15 June, 2007 to 15 December, 2007. A total of 28 patients were included in the study. Patients with acute renal failure and acute on chronic renal failure were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Total sessions of hemodialysis during the period were 1455. Hypotensive episode were 66 (4.5%) and was the commonest complication and followed by hypertensive episodes were 58 (3.8%). Other problems encountered were transfusion reactions were 23 episodes (1.5%), rigors not related to transfusions were 13 episodes (0.8%), nausea/vomiting were 20 episodes (1.4%), muscle cramps were 12 episodes (0.8%), hypoglycemia were 6 episodes 5(0.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of intradialytic complications is low and many of them are not life threatening.

Pattern of end stage renal disease in a tertiary care center.

INTRODUCTION: End Stage renal disease (ESRD) is a major public health problem across the world and it is rising. The incidence prevalence and causes of ESRD is not known in Nepal. With a population of 27 million people the estimated incidence of ESRD is around 2700/year if we take 100/million population at par with India and Pakistan. However majority of patients do not reach hospitals with dialysis facilities. The aim of the present study was to analyze the clinico-epidemiological profile of ESRD in the Nepalese context. METHODS: A retrospective, cross sectional study was conducted on newly diagnosed ESRD patients within five years in a tertiary care center. Their demographic profile, etiology and follow up were studied. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 42 years, male to female ratio being 1.7:1. Chronic glomerulonephritis (41%) was the leading cause of ESRD, followed by diabetic nephropathy (16.8%) and hypertensive nephrosclerosis (13.7%). Unexplained renal failure constituted 18% of our cases. Intermittent peritoneal dialysis (IPD) remained the initial mode of therapy due to easy accessibility. Most of the patients dropped out after having single session of IPD. Others went for repeat sessions of IPD or haemodialysis. Out of the 23.6% who went for haemodialysis only 13% could continue dialysis for more than three months and 3.8% could go to neighboring country for renal transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: CGN is the leading cause of ESRD followed by diabetic nephropathy and hypertension. It affected younger age group people. ESRD treatment is costly and unaffordable by most Nepalese people. Stress should be given to the health education and screening programme for prevention and early detection of CKD.

Acute renal failure in a tertiary care center in Nepal.

From July 1998 to July 1999, 45 cases of acute renal failure were treated at Bir Hospital, Kathmandu. Out of which 24 were male and 21 were female. Age ranged from 11 months to 84 years with mean age being 35 years and 9 cases were below 10 years. Four cases with pre-renal azotaemia and twenty five cases of acute tubular necrosis (ATN) accounted for 64% of all cases. These were due to gastroenteritis 10, sepsis 6, post surgical 1, trauma 1 and obstretical complications 5. Multiple hornet stings were responsible for acute renal failure in 3 cases, acute urate nephropathy in 1 case and miscellaneous causes in 2 cases. Glomerulonephritis / vasculitis accounted for 17.7%, acute interstitial nephritis 4.4%, haemotytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) 6.6%, and post renal azotaemia in 6.6% of all cases. Mean serum creatinine was 8 mg/dl, mean blood urea 190 mg/dl. Eight cases were treated only conservatively, eighteen received haemodialysis, fourteen received peritoneal dialysis, three received both and two refused for dialysis. Average duration of hospital stay was 13.6 days. Out of the forty-five cases twenty-nine recovered normal renal function, ten expired, two recovered partially, two progressed to chronic renal failure and two left against medical advice. Overall mortality was 22.2%. Common causes of acute renal failure in our setting were gastroenteritis (22%) and sepsis (20%). HUS was exclusively seen in children following bacillary dysentery. Multiple hornet stings is an important cause of acute renal failure in our country.