Acute plasmacytic interstitial nephritis in a child with Down syndrome.

A 7.5-year-old boy with Down syndrome presented in acute renal failure (ARF) needing dialysis. When 1.5 years old he had a neuroblastoma, was treated for 1 year with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and off chemotherapy had since been in remission. Renal biopsy revealed an interstitial inflammation, principally of plasma cells with some lymphocytes and eosinophils. Immunofluorescence showed no deposition of immunoglobulins or complement (C3). The plasma cells were a mixture of kappa and lambda light chain-producing cells. The patient spontaneously improved a week after admission. Initial ultrasonography showed enlarged kidneys with loss of corticomedullary differentiation. We are unaware of a report of ARF in a child, resulting primarily from a polyclonal plasmacytic interstitial nephritis. The etiology remains unclear.

Hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease in children weighing less than 10 kg.

Hemodialysis (HD) of infants with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is technically difficult and labor intensive, although there are few data in the literature to document the outcomes of this treatment. We retrospectively reviewed all patients with ESRD who received HD between 1983 and 1997 who weighed <10 kg at the beginning of HD. A total of ten patients aged 2-27 months, weighing 3.5-9.5 kg, were identified. All patients were dialyzed through a central venous line; three had a failed sapheno-femoral loop and one a failed brachial shunt. Line clot was observed in nine and line sepsis in six patients. Subclavian vein stenosis was documented in one patient following removal of a clotted subclavian line. The mean urea reduction ratios calculated during the 1st and 3rd month of HD were only 54% and 49%, respectively. Anemia was a frequent problem, despite the use of erythropoietin in seven of the infants. Outcomes included: successful renal transplant in four, switch back to peritoneal dialysis in two, improved renal function and dialysis discontinuation in one, and death after withdrawal of treatment in three patients. All three patients who died were <5 months of age, weighed <5 kg, and were anuric; two of the three had congenital nephrotic syndrome. In conclusion, successful HD is possible in small children with ESRD, but morbidity is substantial and mortality is high.