Urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein level as a prognostic indicator of acute kidney injury secondary to severe falciparum malaria.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) secondary to severe falciparum malaria possesses a high mortality rate; however, a prognostic marker of renal dysfunction has not yet been identified. Thus, we reported a case of a patient with AKI secondary to falciparum malaria who underwent hemodialysis and a renal biopsy due to prolonged renal dysfunction. The male patient, in his 50 s, presented to our hospital with vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and decreased level of consciousness. The Giemsa-stained peripheral blood film revealed approximately 5% parasitemia, and a rapid diagnostic test was positive for Plasmodium falciparum. He was diagnosed with severe falciparum malaria and was started on quinine hydrochloride. Hemodialysis was initiated due to the decreased urine output and fluid retention. Subsequently, he was weaned off hemodialysis. The histopathological analysis of a renal biopsy revealed interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, and chronic inflammatory cell infiltration; thus, malarial nephropathy was diagnosed. Thereafter, his renal function stabilized, and he was discharged from the hospital. The urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) level decreased before renal function improved. Our report highlighted that long-term follow-up is essential for severe AKI secondary to malaria. The urinary L-FABP level may be a useful prognostic indicator of AKI secondary to severe falciparum malaria.

A retrospective study describing the effective exchange of total blood plasma for disease control in the exacerbation of serpiginous choroiditis.

INTRODUCTION: Serpiginous choroiditis presents with large yellow-white exudative lesions that occur near the optic nerve papillae, that progresses slowly with repeated relapses and cures. Although infection and autoimmunity have been implicated, the cause is unknown. METHODS: A man was diagnosed with serpiginous choroiditis on clinical and other examinations. He started treatment with oral corticosteroids, cyclophosphamide, adalimumab, azathioprine, rituximab, and mycophenolate mofetil. Only the steroids and cyclophosphamide had a therapeutic effect. Plasma exchange was initiated, and the lesions quickly resolved. RESULTS: Disease control has been maintained by plasma exchange and cyclophosphamide during flare-ups in the fall and winter, suggesting that plasma exchange is effective in the treatment of serpiginous choroiditis. CONCLUSION: The reproducible response with each recurrence suggests a strong association between the disease and autoimmunity. Furthermore, that some, as yet unknown, autoantibodies are involved in the pathogenesis of serpiginous choroiditis.

Safety of casirivimab/imdevimab administration in a SARS-CoV-2 positive maintenance dialysis patient in Japan.

Controlling excessive cytokine secretion is a crucial therapeutic strategy for managing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients on dialysis are at a high risk of severe disease, given abnormal immune responses that can lead to prolonged inflammation. Moreover, patients undergoing dialysis have limited treatment options, as neither remdesivir nor baricitinib is available. The novel neutralizing monoclonal antibody cocktail REGEN-COV (formerly known as REGN-COV2; casirivimab/imdevimab), recently approved in Japan, is a promising drug for preventing severe diseases. However, there are few reports regarding its use in patients undergoing dialysis in Japan. Herein, we report the safe use of antibody cocktail therapy in patients with COVID-19 on hemodialysis receiving maintenance dialysis in Japan. Infusion reactions were not observed during administration. Due to the increasing number of patients with COVID-19 and the limited capacity of the healthcare system, antibody cocktail therapy needs to be enhanced. Antibody cocktail therapy for severe diseases can be safely administered to patients undergoing dialysis who do not require supplemental oxygen.

Efficacy of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockades for acute phase hypertensive emergencies in patient complicating severe acute kidney injury.

Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is primarily involved with pathological mechanism of developing hypertensive emergencies. However, none of clinical practice guidelines mention RAAS blockers for the treatment of hypertensive emergencies. A 44 year-old woman presented with severe hypertension, brain stem posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and severe acute kidney injury (AKI). We started anti-hypertensive therapy with continuous intravenous nitroglycerin and oral calcium channel blocker (CCB) and spironolactone. Since severe AKI persisted despite this therapy, we administered losartan potassium, which resulted in improvement in her blood pressure and creatinine. Clinical course of our patient suggests that timely initiation of ARB and spironolactone for hypertensive emergencies could be beneficial in terms of blood pressure control and for protection of target organs from this condition.

TAFRO Syndrome With Kidney Involvement: A Case Series of Patients With Kidney Biopsies.

TAFRO (thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin myelofibrosis/renal insufficiency, and organomegaly) syndrome is a systemic inflammatory disease sharing some features with Castleman disease and POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal protein, and skin changes) syndrome in relation to abnormal secretions of interleukin 6 and vascular endothelial growth factor. The kidney is a main target organ of TAFRO syndrome but the kidney histopathology associated with TAFRO syndrome is yet to be completely defined. We report 3 TAFRO syndrome cases with different clinical courses in which kidney biopsies were performed. In all 3 cases, kidney biopsies showed similar glomerular lesions of diffuse global swelling of the endothelium and expansion of subendothelial spaces, consistent with severe glomerular endothelial injury. Case 3 showed an additional finding of focal tubulointerstitial injury characterized by marked plasma cell infiltration, which was absent in the other 2 cases. Clinical symptoms in cases 1 and 2, which had lower disease severity scores of TAFRO syndrome, were effectively treated with the administration of corticosteroids or a combination of corticosteroids and cyclosporine A. Case 3, with a higher disease severity score, had an aggressive clinical course that was refractory to corticosteroids and tocilizumab; the patient ultimately died of multiple organ failure. In all 3 cases, kidney biopsy provided indications for the diagnosis process and clinical management of TAFRO syndrome.

Development of acute kidney injury with massive granular casts and microscopic hematuria in patients with COVID-19: two case presentations with literature review.

BACKGROUND: Complications of acute kidney injury (AKI) are common in patients with coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19). However, clinical characteristics of COVID-19-associated AKI are poorly described. We present two cases of severe COVID-19 patients with AKI. CASE PRESENTATION: A 77-year-old woman was suspected of having vancomycin-associated AKI, and a 45-year-old man was suspected of having heme pigment-induced AKI caused by rhabdomyolysis. The granular cast, which is known to be a valuable diagnostic tool for confirming the diagnosis of acute tubular necrosis, was detected in both patients at the onset of AKI. Interestingly, both patients also developed microscopic hematuria at the occurrence of AKI, and one patient had elevated d-dimer and low platelet levels simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: Some reports suggested that COVID-19-associated microangiopathy contributed to the kidney damage. Therefore, it is possible that our patients might have accompanied renal microangiopathy, and that this pathological background may have caused exaggerated tubular damage by vancomycin or heme pigment. The etiology of AKI in patients with COVID-19 is multifactorial. Superimposition of nephrotoxin(s) and virus-associate intra-renal microangiopathy may be a crucial trigger of kidney injury leading to severe AKI in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, in COVID-19 patients, risk factors for AKI should be taken into consideration to prevent its progression into severe AKI.