ABSTRACT
Takayasu arteritis is an idiopathic vasculitis that typically involves the aorta and its major branches. It is more common in women and has the highest prevalence in Asia. Imaging studies are crucial for establishing the diagnosis and for determining the extent of the disease. We present the case of a 47-year-old man who presented with a complaint of anuria and generalized weakness for the last three days. He reported a history of generalized abdominal pain for the last two weeks. His vital signs were within normal limits, but the systolic blood pressure in the lower limb was lower by 60 mmHg compared with that of the upper limb. Notably, the pulses were very faint on palpation. Laboratory investigations revealed deranged renal function parameters. Ultrasound examination showed increased renal parenchymal echogenicity bilaterally with elevated peak systolic velocity of the main renal artery on spectral Doppler. Further investigation by computed tomography demonstrated near-complete thrombosis of the abdominal aorta distal to the origin of the celiac artery and extending to the common iliac arteries with the involvement of bilateral renal arteries. Immunological investigations, including antinuclear antibody (ANA), double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), cyclic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (c-ANCA), and perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (p-ANCA), revealed negative results. However, the positron emission tomography showed markedly diffuse and circumferential increased uptake in the walls of the aorta, subclavian arteries, and femoral arteries. The patient underwent successful endovascular treatment with catheter-directed thrombolysis. High clinical suspicion is required to identify renal artery thrombosis since the clinical symptoms are non-specific. Early diagnosis is crucial to allow for prompt therapeutic interventions.
ABSTRACT
Introduction Immediately after kidney donation, the remaining kidney will undergo hyperfiltration and work at a higher level to compensate for the other kidney's loss. It is estimated that 70% of the baseline renal function before the donation is recovered post-donation. However, factors that determine the post-donation renal compensation are not well understood. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 190 consecutive kidney donors who completed a one-year follow-up in order to predict the factors affecting the function of the remaining kidney post-contralateral nephrectomy. Results We enrolled 190 living kidney donors who had completed at least one year of follow-up after nephrectomy. Among the participants, 149 (78.4%) were males and 41 (21.6%) were females. The mean age of the participants was 31.33 ±7.9 years and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.6 ±3.9 kg/m2. Before kidney donation, the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine were 114.31 ±15.94 ml/min/1.73 m2 and 71.60 ±10.62 mmol/min, respectively. At the one-year follow-up, the mean eGFR was 77.97 ±14.44 ml/min/1.73 m2 and serum creatinine was 100.84 ±20.15 mmol/min. The female gender [odds ratio (OR): 20.6, 95% CI: 3.9-107.7, p: <0.001] and having a higher baseline eGFR (OR: 8.8, 95% CI: 1.6-45.8, p = 0.01) were found to be significant predictors of having a better eGFR at one year post-nephrectomy. Conclusions Female gender and pre-donation low serum creatinine and high eGFR were the significant predictors of better kidney function at one year post-contralateral nephrectomy. However, further studies with longer follow-up durations are needed to better assess the factors that could predict renal compensation and the renal compensation rate's suitability as a prognostic measure for long-term renal outcomes.
