Increased risk of death and de novo chronic kidney disease following reversible acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury increases mortality risk among those with established chronic kidney disease. In this study we used a propensity score-matched cohort method to retrospectively evaluate the risks of death and de novo chronic kidney disease after reversible, hospital-associated acute kidney injury among patients with normal pre-hospitalization kidney function. Of 30,207 discharged patients alive at 90 days, 1610 with reversible acute kidney injury that resolved within the 90 days were successfully matched across multiple parameters with 3652 control patients who had not experienced acute kidney injury. Median follow-up was 3.3 and 3.4 years (injured and control groups, respectively). In Cox proportional hazard models, the risk of death associated with reversible acute kidney injury was significant (hazard ratio 1.50); however, adjustment for the development of chronic kidney injury during follow-up attenuated this risk (hazard ratio 1.18). Reversible acute kidney injury was associated with a significant risk of de novo chronic kidney disease (hazard ratio 1.91). Thus, a resolved episode of hospital-associated acute kidney injury has important implications for the longitudinal surveillance of patients without preexisting, clinically evident kidney disease.

Doxycycline-Induced Antinuclear Antibody and Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Associated Vasculitis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Drug-induced antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) has been increasingly recognized in the literature with numerous medications listed as causative agents in disease pathology. Doxycycline is a commonly prescribed medication within the United States which is a synthetic, broad-spectrum antibiotic with antimicrobial properties and at low doses exhibits anti-inflammatory effects. In this report, we describe a case of doxycycline-induced ANCA-associated vasculitis with laboratory and biopsy findings supporting the diagnosis, which to the best of our knowledge is the first described case of doxycycline-induced AAV in the literature. The patient was started on doxycycline for treatment of potential Lyme disease. She began to develop progressively worsening myasthenia, erythematous macular rash, anorexia, anemia, and fatigue for several weeks following the course of doxycycline with initial concern of a paraneoplastic process. Ultimately, the patient was discovered to be positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA), perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody for which she was treated with a course of prednisone leading to complete remission of disease. A brief review of the pathogenesis of ANCA vasculitides will also be discussed within this article.

Fibrillary glomerulopathy secondary to light chain deposition disease in a patient with monoclonal gammopathy.

The pathologic manifestations of renal diseases related to monoclonal plasma cell dyscrasia include light chain deposition disease, the AL type of amyloidosis, and myeloma cast nephropathy. Light chain deposit disease (LCDD) is an uncommon condition in which monoclonal light chains are deposited in the glomeruli, tubules, and vessels causing varying degree of damage. We report a case of LCDD coincident with fibrillary glomerulonephropathy (FGN) in a 73-yr-old man with a diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance who presented with progressive renal insufficiency and mild proteinuria. The serum kappa light chain level was markedly raised. Immunofluorescent stains showed IgG along with C3 and kappa staining in glomeruli, but lambda staining was negative. Electron microscopic studies revealed diffuse punctuate-type deposits along the subendothelial areas. There were also scattered randomly oriented fibrils with a mean fibril thickness of 15-25 nm seen mainly in the glomerular mesangium, consistent with FGN. The congo red stain was negative on the histologic section. The present case illustrates that LCDD can progress to develop FGN in a patient with monoclonal gammopathy.

Monocyte-mediated acute renal rejection after combined treatment with preoperative Campath-1H (alemtuzumab) and postoperative immunosuppression.

Campath-1H (alemtuzumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody against CD52, can cause more profound depletion of lymphocytes than monocytes. The resultant imbalance of lymphocytes and monocytes after Campath-1H treatment of a renal-transplant recipient may lead to an acute rejection dominated by monocytes. We report such a case of acute transplant rejection in a 49-yr-old man who received a living non-related kidney transplant and was treated with preoperative Campath-1H and postoperative immunosuppression. An initial post-transplant renal biopsy showed diffuse mild acute rejection with 95% CD68-positive monocytes, but only 5% CD3-positive T lymphocytes. Inflammatory cells in the renal biopsy were negative for CD34 and CD1a stains, suggesting non-involvement of CD34-derived dendritic cells in the acute rejection. After steroid treatment for 2 wk, the patient's serum creatinine concentration diminished to 1.5 mg/dl. The histopathological features of acute rejection were absent in a second biopsy of the transplanted kidney. In summary, this case is an instance of monocyte-mediated acute rejection of a transplanted kidney.

Fat-free weight prediction in morbidly obese females.

PURPOSE: Precise estimation of creatinine clearance in obese individuals relies on the appropriate assessment of lean body weight (LBW). Anthropometric methods of predicting LBW have not been validated in morbidly obese populations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using an existing dataset of anthropometric data for a female cohort with morbid obesity who had undergone measured FFW with dual energy absorptiometry, we evaluated the performance of five previously reported estimating equations for the prediction of LBW. Linear regression was used to derive a new LBW prediction formula and was then compared with the other formulae. RESULTS: Seventy females (mean [standard deviation] age, weight, and body mass index 43.0 [11.0] years, 128.1 [13.8] kg, and 48.3 [4.8] kg/m(2), respectively) were identified. LBW as estimated by the method of Garrow and Webster correlated well (r = 0.87) with measured mass while demonstrating the highest accuracy, best precision, and smallest bias (93%, 2.1 kg, and 2.9 kg, respectively; P < 0.0001 for all comparisons). The derived formula further improved bias, precision, and accuracy. CONCLUSION: Among females with morbid obesity, most previously reported estimating equations for LBW predicted FFW poorly. These findings have important clinical implications for the assessment of kidney function and for safe and effective drug dosing.

Hypernatremia in a patient treated with sodium polystyrene sulfonate.

Severe hyperkalemia requires urgent medical attention and correction in order to prevent arrhythmic complications. Sodium polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) is a cation exchange resin commonly used in the management of hyperkalemia. A recent review raised concerns regarding its effectiveness and potential adverse effects. Hypernatremia in adults in the setting of sodium polystyrene sulfonate therapy has not been described in the literature. We report the case of a woman who developed hypernatremia in the setting of excessive SPS administration and hope to increase awareness among clinicians regarding this potential side effect of SPS therapy.

Transplantation and 6-month follow-up of renal transplantation from a donor with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis.

Transplantation of kidneys with pre-existing glomerulonephritis (GN) has rarely been reported. Little is known of the subsequent evolution of donor pathology in the recipient. We report a transplant using a donor with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a history of remote acute renal failure but normal renal function at death. Although the screening harvest biopsy was unremarkable, time zero post-implantation renal biopsy showed evidence of lupus nephritis (LN). Sequential protocol biopsies demonstrated gradual resolution of the donor pathology, and renal function was stable despite severe cardiac disease in the recipient. Studies examining the role of functional and biopsy data on outcomes in expanded criteria renal transplantation are reviewed, and the limits of guidance from use of this data are discussed. Pre-existing mild GN may not be an absolute donor exclusion for candidates willing to accept expanded criteria donors. Use of expanded pool kidneys should be guided by functional, biopsy and demographic information, as no single factor alone predicts outcome.

Acute cellular rejection predominated by monocytes is a severe form of rejection in human renal recipients with or without Campath-1H (alemtuzumab) induction therapy.

Campath-1H has been used successfully for induction and has resulted in a low rate of acute cellular rejection (ACR) in renal transplantation in combination with various postoperative immunosuppression regimens. This study was undertaken to investigate the extent of monocyte involvement in ACR, with or without Campath-1H induction. We found that monocytes represented the majority of inflammatory cells in grades Ib or higher ACR, but not with Ia type of ACR, regardless of the status of Campath-1H induction. Cases of ACR, following Campath-1H induction, appear to demonstrate a 'pure form' of monocytic ACR, whereas monocytes were mixed with many other types of inflammatory cells in the cases of ACR in the absence of Campath-1H induction. In addition with Campath-1H induction, the cases of monocyte-predominant ACR were found to uniformly exhibit a good response to corticosteroid treatment. We conclude that monocyte-predominate ACR may represent a severe form of rejection, with or without Campath-1H treatment.