A Case of Microscopic Polyangiitis: Glomerulonephritis, Neuropsychiatric Abnormalities, and Urticarial Vasculitis / 대한신장학회지

We report a case of microscopic polyangiitis, presenting with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, and urticarial vasculitis. A 65-year-old woman reported loss of appetite, significant weight loss, and a transient history of veering tendency. She was presented with a mild fever, cough, and sputum. Routine laboratory test revealed anemia, leukocytosis with a left shift, azotemia, and elevated highly sensitive C-reactive protein. The bilateral kidneys were observed to be enlarged (right kidney 16.3 cm, left kidney 18.2 cm) on an abdominal computed tomography. The perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (p-ANCA) titer was >1:640 and MPO-ANCA was positive. Her chief complaints consisted of character change, visual illusion, and hearing loss. A skin rash with a bullous change resembling urticaria was further developed. Kidney biopsy demonstrated pauci-immune diffuse crescentic glomerulonephritis. Skin biopsy was compatible with urticarial vasculitis. Having received intravenous cyclophosphamide and oral prednisolone, she showed sustained improvement in renal function, as well as her neuropsychiatric symptoms and skin rash.

Renal Vein Thrombosis in Obese Patient / 대한신장학회지

Renal vein thrombosis (RVT) is mostly related with other causes. The underlying conditions of RVT were nephrotic syndrome, trauma, cancer, anatomical anomalies, and other hypercoagulable status. Especially hypercoagulable status was rarely caused by obesity. We diagnosed renal vein thrombosis from an obese patient with hypertriglyceridemia. A male patient visited the Seoul National University Hospital for evaluating the reason of his flank pain. The pain started from two weeks ago, He had regarded flank pain as his obesity status (his weight was 84 kg and Body mass index was 29.41 kg/m2). So he had lost his weight by over-sweating one day before. At initial examination, his blood pressure was 128/75 mmHg, pulse rate was 72/min, respiration rate was 20/min and body temperature was 36.2degrees C. Blood chemistries revealed total cholesterol 218 mg/dL, Blood urea nitrogen/creatinine 12/1.3 mg/dL Urinalysis showed specific gravity 1.015, pH 5.5, protein 2+, blood 2+, RBC/WBC 1-4/<1 HPF on microscopic examination. Twenty-four hour collection of the urine showed protein 329 mg/day, creatinine clearance 90 mL/min. Renal vein thrombosis was visualized on the renal computed tomography and pulmonary embolism on the lung scan. Then, anticoagulant therapy was started after coagulation related tests. However, no abnormality of coagulation tests was detected. The evidence of malignancy was not detected either. After anticoagulation therapy, the pain was subsided. The only underlying cause for his hypercoagulability was considered obese status. Unfortunately we had not checked the triglyceride, initially. So we could not prioritize the reason of renal vein thrombosis into hypertriyglyceridemia. We considered that his obese status and subsequent hypertriyglyceridemia might be one of the causes of renal vein thrombosis.