Two Cases of Typhoid Fever Complicated by Acute Renal Failure / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Typhoid fever, although having undergone a progressive decline in incidence in Korea, has continued to occur sporadically in this country. Renal complications are usually noted in 2-6 percent of patients and various clinical features of renal complication have been reported. However, acute renal failure has been rarely reported. We did a renal biopsy in two patients with typhoid fever who exhibited clinical evidence of acute renal failure, such as oliguria, azotemia, and mentality change. Light microscopy showed that the glomeruli were intact and some of the tubules were dilated and lined by regenerating epithelium. There was mild interstitial edema. Immunofluorescent microscopy showed trace deposits of IgA in one case. Electron microscopy did not show eigther abnormal electron dense deposits or cellular proliferation. Fever and melena disappeared after chloramphenicol treatment, and with the cure of the typhoid fever, the renal symptoms also. Typhoid nephritis should be considered as a cause of acute renal failure when acute renal failure is developed in febrile patients.