Reversible lung fibrosis in a 6-year-old girl after long term nitrofurantoin treatment.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary side effects are well known, including lung fibrosis, in elderly patients treated with long-term nitrofurantoin to prevent urinary tract infections and secondary renal injury. However, pulmonary side effects have only been reported rarely in paediatric cases, despite nitrofurantoin being a first line prophylactic treatment of recurrent childhood urinary tract infection. CASE PRESENTATIONS: A 6-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with dyspnea, general fatigue, loss of appetite and need for nasal oxygen treatment after long-term nitrofurantoin treatment. A computed tomography scan of the chest showed lung fibrosis. A biopsy confirmed this diagnosis. We suspected the fibrosis to be caused by the nitrofurantoin treatment. Thorough examinations reveal no other explanations. Nitrofurantoin was discontinued and the girl was treated with methylprednisolone. After 17 month a new scan and lung function test showed total regression of the lung fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: This case underlines that risk of severe side effects should be taken in to account before initiation of long-term nitrofurantoin treatment in children.

Increased Ferritin Concentration and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure in Men and Women: Three Studies of the Danish General Population Including 35799 Individuals.

BACKGROUND: Moderately increased plasma ferritin, as a biomarker of iron overload, has been associated with higher rates of cardiovascular death and heart failure. However, the association of moderately increased plasma ferritin with risk of atrial fibrillation in the general population is unknown. METHODS: We examined the association of plasma ferritin concentrations with risk of atrial fibrillation and heart failure in metaanalyses of 35799 men and women from 3 studies of the Danish general population: the Copenhagen City Heart Study, the Danish General Suburban Population Study, and the Copenhagen General Population Study. RESULTS: Multivariable adjusted fixed effects odds ratios for atrial fibrillation were 1.23 (95% CI, 1.05-1.44; P = 0.005) in men for ferritin concentration ≥300 µg/L vs <300 µg/L, 1.13 (95% CI, 0.93-1.38; P = 0.22) in women for ≥200 µg/L vs <200 µg/L, and 1.19 (95% CI, 1.06-1.35; P = 0.005) in both sexes combined (P sex interaction = 0.52). Corresponding fixed effects odds ratios for heart failure were 1.16 (95% CI, 0.98-1.37; P = 0.08) in men, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.67-1.10; P = 0.23) in women, and 1.05 (95% CI, 0.91-1.21; P = 0.45) in both sexes combined (P sex interaction = 0.05). Multivariable adjusted fixed effects odds ratio for atrial fibrillation per step increase in ferritin concentrations was 1.13 (95% CI, 1.06-1.21; P trend = 0.0005) in both sexes combined (P sex interaction = 0.59); the corresponding value for heart failure was 1.03 (95% CI, 0.95-1.11; P trend = 0.47) (P sex interaction = 0.08). In sensitivity analyses, there was no evidence of U-shaped relationships between plasma ferritin concentrations and risk of atrial fibrillation or heart failure in men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Increased ferritin concentration is associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation in the general population.