A Case of Acute Kidney Injury Associated with Rhabdomyolysis after Liposuction / 대한내과학회지

Rhabdomyolysis is defined as a skeletal muscle injury with release of muscle cell constituents into the plasma. It can occur in various diseases and conditions, including muscle strain, drug or alcohol abuse, connective tissue disease, excess exercise, or following surgery. Only one case of rhabdomyolysis has ever been associated with liposuction in Korea. We experienced a case of rhabdomyolysis that developed after liposuction surgery. The patient was a 39-year-old woman presenting with abdominal pain 1 day after liposuction. She was treated with general supportive care, including massive hydration and absolute bed rest. Renal replacement therapy was performed due to pulmonary edema. She, finally, recovered fully. Acute kidney injury caused by liposuction-induced rhabdomyolysis is a rare disease. Therefore, we present this case with a review of the literature.

The Effects of Low Sodium Dialysate in Hemodialysis Patients / 대한신장학회지

PURPOSE: Hypertension is a common problem in maintenance hemodialysis (HD) patients. We assessed the effects of low sodium dialysate on changes of blood pressure in maintenance HD patients. METHODS: Forty HD patients were enrolled in this cross-over study. All the patients underwent nine consecutive HD sessions with the dialysate contained 138 mEq/L sodium (conventional sodium HD), then concentrations of sodium were switched to match the patients average pre-HD plasma sodium measured during the conventional sodium phase (135 mEq/L for patients with sodium levels less than 137, 137 for patients with sodium levels over 137). Dry weight and dialysis prescription were not modified during the six weeks of the study. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the interdialytic weight gain (2.4+/-0.9 kg vs. 2.0+/-0.7 kg, p<0.001) and the interdialytic thirsty in low sodium HD sessions compare to conventional sodium HD sessions. Pre-HD systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), post-dialysis systolic BP was similar in both periods of the study. The use of low sodium dialysate is associated with significantly lower systolic BP in patients with uncontrolled hypertension (n=10,157.1+/-3.6 mmHg vs. 148.0+/-9.4 mmHg, p=0.011), but not in those with controlled hypertension. Cardio-thoracic ratio was significant decrease in low sodium dialysate HD (0.53+/-0.08 vs. 0.51+/-0.07, p=0.002). The episodes of intradialytic hypotension and related symptoms were not more frequent in low sodium dialysate HD. CONCLUSION: Low dialysate sodium concentration based on predialysis sodium levels of patients could reduce the pre-HD systolic BP, interdialytic thirsty and interdialytic weight gain in maintenance HD patients.

A Case of Combining Intravenous Immunoglobulin and Leflunomide for BK Nephropathy / 대한내과학회지

BK virus nephropathy has emerged as an important cause of renal allograft dysfunction. It affects 1-10% of renal transplant patients and results in significant graft dysfunction in more than 50% of cases. A reduction in the amount of immunosuppressants is not an appropriate treatment option for advanced stage BK nephropathy; therefore, other treatment strategies need to be considered such as cidofovir, leflunomide, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in combination with reduced immunosuppression. The use of IVIG may be a valuable treatment option in patients with BK virus nephropathy. We report our experience with IVIG rescue therapy in a patient and the progression of BK nephropathy despite leflunomide therapy.

Role of IL-1alpha in Cisplatin-Induced Acute Renal Failure in Mice

BACKGROUND/AIMS: For unknown reasons, caspase-1 -/- mice, protected against cisplatin-induced acute renal failure (ARF), are deficient in interleukin (IL)-1alpha. We thus asked whether IL-1alpha deficiency underlies the mechanism of protection against cisplatin-induced ARF in these mice. METHODS: Cisplatin (30 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally into wild-type C57BL/6 mice to produce a cisplatin-induced model of ARF. IL-1alpha was measured in control vehicle- and cisplatin-treated wild-type animals. We also examined whether IL-1alpha -/- mice were similarly protected against cisplatin-induced ARF. Additionally, infiltration of CD11b- and CD49b-positive cells, as markers of macrophages, natural killer, and natural killer T cells (pan-NK cells), was investigated in wild-type and IL-1alpha -/- mice. RESULTS: Compared with vehicle-treated mice, renal IL-1alpha increased in cisplatin-treated wild-type mice beginning on day 1. IL-1alpha -/- mice were shown to be protected against cisplatin-induced ARF. No significant difference in the infiltration of neutrophils or CD11b- and CD49b-positive cells were observed between wild-type and IL-1alpha -/- mice. CONCLUSIONS: Mice deficient in IL-1alpha are protected against cisplatin-induced ARF. The lack of IL-1alpha may explain, at least in part, the protection against cisplatin-induced ARF observed in caspase-1 -/- mice. Investigation of the protective mechanism (s) in IL-1alpha -/- mice in cisplatin-induced ARF merits further study.

Clinical Significance of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Colistin Treatment / 대한신장학회지

PURPOSE: Colistin (colistimethate sodium) became available for clinical use in 1959 and was used until the early 1980s to treat infections caused by Gram-negative rods. It was abandoned during the last two decades mainly due to its significant nephrotoxicity. However, the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii has resulted in significantly increased use of intravenous colistin. This study was designed to investigate the incidence and risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with intravenous colistin (colistimethate sodium) treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data from patients who were admitted to Chung-Ang University Hospital and treated with colistin from May 2007 to June 2009. Among these, we excluded the patients with baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 15 ml/min/1.73m2. AKI was defined as an increase of creatinine more than 150% from the baseline, according to RIFLE criteria. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. AKI occurred in 43 (47%) of the 92 patients. The cumulative doses (2.51+/-1.89 vs. 1.75+/-1.35 g, p=0.032) of colistin were significantly greater in the AKI group than in the normal kidney function (NKF) group. Serum creatinine level showed a significant increase in the AKI group, from day 3 (1.6+/-1.1 vs. 0.9+/-0.5 mg/dL, p=0.001) to day 90 (2.1+/-1.9 vs. 0.7+/-0.2 mg/dL, p=0.033). Furthermore, the occurrence of AKI at day 3 was a significant predictor of shorter survival (Log rank test p=0.031). CONCLUSION: AKI was a relatively common side effect of colistin. The cumulative dose was critical, rather than the daily dose or duration of treatment. Early acute kidney injury may predict shorter cumulative survival in patients undergoing colistin treatment.

Disseminated Mycobacterium avium Complex Infection in a Non-HIV-infected Patient Undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis / 대한진단검사의학회지

Isolated bone marrow infection by nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is extremely rare. Recently, we encountered a case of bone marrow Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection, which presented as a fever of unknown origin shortly after starting continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The patient was diagnosed with MAC infection on the basis of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing of DNA obtained from bone marrow specimens. Although this was a case of severe MAC infection, there was no evidence of infection of other organs. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing dialysis can be considered immunodeficient; therefore, when these patients present with fever of unknown origin, opportunistic infections such as NTM infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

A Long-term Study On Changes of Serum Middle Molecules Concentration according to the Frequency of On-line Hemodiafiltration :A Comparison between 1/week and 3/week On-line Hemodiafiltration / 대한신장학회지

PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of long-term and differing frequency of on-line hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) on changes in degree of hemoglobin, albumin level, serum small and middle molecules concentration in stable patients with undergoing high-flux hemodialysis (HF-HD). METHODS:Twenty five patients with more than 3 months of HF-HD were divided into two groups and followed for more than 36 months. Group 1 was treated once with OL-HDF and twice with HF-HD per week. Group 2 was treated three times with OL-HDF per week. Analysis was performed to compare hemoglobin, biochemical parameters, serum beta-microglobulin, leptin, alpha-microglobulin levels in both groups. RESULTS:There were significant improvements in hemoglobin and albumin level in group 2 compared to group 1. After receiving OL-HDF for a mean of 24 months, patients on both groups had the significantly reduced predialysis level of beta-microglobulin compared to baseline level. However, there is no significant difference in beta-microglobulin level between both groups. The predialysis level of leptin and alpha-microglobulin with relatively large molecular weight was not significantly reduced during observational period and was not significantly different between both groups. CONCLUSION:There were improvements in hemoglobin and albumin level according to the frequency of OL-HDF. The predialysis level of beta-microglobulin was significantly reduced after receiving even once with OL-HDF per week for long-term. Therefore, our study can suggest that there is no correlation between the frequency of OL-HDF and the predialysis level of beta-microglobulin.

Pneumonia Caused by Fungus, Pneumocystis Jirovecii and Cytomegalovirus Coinfection in Patient with Renal Transplantation: A Case Report / 대한이식학회지

Renal transplantation has become a well-established, definitive, highly successful therapy for end stage renal disease and been increased in previous decades. Korean Network for Organ Sharing reports that renal transplantation has been performed over 800 cases per year during five years. Although graft survival after renal transplantation has increased with the development of numerous new immunosupressive agents, infectious complications remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients.Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major virus in organ transplant recipients and is associated with opportunistic superinfection with a range of different microorganisms including Pneumocystis jirovecii, fungi, gram negative bacterias. In this paper, we report a case of pneumonia caused by fungus, Pneumocystis jirovecii, CMV in patient with renal transplantation. Based on the strong suspicion of superinfection, we aggressively diagnosed by performing surgical method and successfully treated the condition. Patients with CMV pneumonitis may be predisposed to superinfection by other pathogen and is associated with high mortality. Therefore, if superinfection is suspected, prompt diagnosis involving invasive methods and early initiation of antiviral, antifungal therapy are essential to reduce the mortality.