The Challenges of Diagnosing Nondilated Obstructive Uropathy: A Case Report.

Rationale: Nondilated obstructive uropathy (NDOU) is a rare cause of acute renal failure reported in less than 5% of cases of obstructive uropathy. It is typically associated with intrapelvic malignancies and diseases causing retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy and retroperitoneal fibrosis. As these conditions may prevent radiographic dilation of the collecting system, the diagnosis of NDOU may be missed by usual diagnostic testing. Presenting concerns of the patient: We present a case of acute anuric renal failure in a middle-aged woman with metastatic breast cancer associated with abdominal and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Acute kidney injury was initially deemed secondary to drug-induced acute tubular necrosis (ATN) from bisphosphonate; however, there remained a high clinical suspicion of NDOU due to the presence of enlarged retroperitoneal lymph nodes on CT abdomen and pelvis with concerns for encasement of bilateral renal pelvic regions and ureters. Diagnoses: The patient underwent a retrograde pyelogram which demonstrated questionable narrowing bilaterally at the level of the renal pelvices. This led to an even stronger clinical suspicion of NDOU and urology service was consulted for evaluation. Intervention: Bilateral ureteral stents were placed by urology which led to robust urine output and rapid reversal of renal failure over the next 24 to 48 hours. Outcomes: Despite 2 weeks of anuria and hemodialysis, this patient's creatinine came back to her baseline. She was able to discontinue hemodialysis and her creatinine stabilized at 88.4 µmol/L (1 mg/dL). Teaching points: Nondilated obstructive uropathy is rare but important diagnosis that requires a high clinical suspicion in the appropriate clinical scenario. The lack of dilatation is believed to be related to encasement of the collecting system by tumor, fibrosis, or as in our case metastatic retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. As this diagnosis cannot be overlooked, aggressive direct visualization or even intervention with internal or external stenting may be required to both diagnose and treat this condition.

Justification: L'uropathie obstructive sans dilatation (UOSD) est une cause rare d'insuffisance rénale aiguë (IRA) rapportée dans moins de 5 % des cas d'uropathie obstructive. Elle est généralement associée à des tumeurs malignes intrapelviennes et de maladies entraînant une lymphadénopathie rétropéritonéale et une fibrose rétropéritonéale. Ces conditions pouvant empêcher la dilatation radiographique du système collecteur, il arrive que le diagnostic de l'UOSD soit manqué lors des tests de diagnostic habituels. Présentation du cas: Nous présentons un cas d'IRA anurique chez une femme d'âge moyen atteinte d'un cancer du sein métastatique associé à une lymphadénopathie abdominale et rétropéritonéale (LAR). L'IRA avait initialement été considérée comme secondaire à une nécrose tubulaire aiguë induite par le bisphosphonate. La présence de ganglions lymphatiques rétropéritonéaux hypertrophiés sur la tomographie de l'abdomen et du bassin a toutefois soulevé un doute clinique d'UOSD; une obstruction des régions bilatérales du bassinet rénal et des uretères a été soupçonné. Diagnostic: La patiente a subi un pyélogramme rétrograde qui a montré un rétrécissement bilatéral suspect au niveau des bassinets rénaux, ce qui a soulevé un doute clinique encore plus important quant à la présence d'une UOSD. Le service d'urologie a été consulté pour évaluation. Intervention: Des endoprothèses urétérales ont été insérées bilatéralement par urologie. L'intervention a entraîné une forte production d'urine et la disparition de l'insuffisance rénale dans les 24 à 48 heures suivantes. Résultats: Malgré deux semaines d'anurie et d'hémodialyse, le taux de créatinine de la patiente est retourné à sa valeur initiale. La patiente a pu interrompre l'hémodialyse et son taux de créatinine s'est stabilisé à 88,4 micromoles/L (1 mg/dl). Enseignements tirés: Le diagnostic de l'UOSD est rare, mais important, car il requiert un doute clinique élevé dans le scénario clinique approprié. On pense que l'absence de dilatation pourrait être liée à l'obstruction du système collecteur rénal par une tumeur ou en raison d'une fibrose ou, comme ici, d'une lymphadénopathie rétropéritonéale métastatique. Puisque le diagnostic de l'UOSD ne doit pas être négligé, une visualisation directe plus poussée et l'insertion d'une endoprothèse interne ou externe pourraient s'avérer nécessaires pour diagnostiquer et traiter cette affection.

A multi-center retrospective cohort study defines the spectrum of kidney pathology in Coronavirus 2019 Disease (COVID-19).

Kidney failure is common in patients with Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19), resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. In an international collaboration, 284 kidney biopsies were evaluated to improve understanding of kidney disease in COVID-19. Diagnoses were compared to five years of 63,575 native biopsies prior to the pandemic and 13,955 allograft biopsies to identify diseases that have increased in patients with COVID-19. Genotyping for APOL1 G1 and G2 alleles was performed in 107 African American and Hispanic patients. Immunohistochemistry for SARS-CoV-2 was utilized to assess direct viral infection in 273 cases along with clinical information at the time of biopsy. The leading indication for native biopsy was acute kidney injury (45.4%), followed by proteinuria with or without concurrent acute kidney injury (42.6%). There were more African American patients (44.6%) than patients of other ethnicities. The most common diagnosis in native biopsies was collapsing glomerulopathy (25.8%), which was associated with high-risk APOL1 genotypes in 91.7% of cases. Compared to the five-year biopsy database, the frequency of myoglobin cast nephropathy and proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal IgG deposits was also increased in patients with COVID-19 (3.3% and 1.7%, respectively), while there was a reduced frequency of chronic conditions (including diabetes mellitus, IgA nephropathy, and arterionephrosclerosis) as the primary diagnosis. In transplants, the leading indication was acute kidney injury (86.4%), for which rejection was the predominant diagnosis (61.4%). Direct SARS-CoV-2 viral infection was not identified. Thus, our multi-center large case series identified kidney diseases that disproportionately affect patients with COVID-19 and demonstrated a high frequency of APOL1 high-risk genotypes within this group, with no evidence of direct viral infection within the kidney.

Pseudo-anion gap metabolic acidosis from severe hypertriglyceridemia corrected by plasma exchange
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BACKGROUND: Falsely low or even unmeasurable serum bicarbonate has been described in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia or paraproteinemia. This phenomenon, known as pseudo-hypobicarbonatemia, is believed to be due to interference by these components when the commonly used enzymatic assay is utilized for serum bicarbonate measurement. The calculated bicarbonate derived from blood gas machines is not affected. This can lead to a misdiagnosis of a severe anion gap metabolic acidosis along with an extensive and expensive work-up. CASE PRESENTATIONS: We review a series of 5 patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia who presented with pseudo-hypobicarbonatemia and an elevated anion gap metabolic acidosis. Membrane-based therapeutic plasma exchange was utilized. RESULTS: Following aggressive lowering of the triglycerides, there was an immediate resolution of the pseudo-hypobicarbonatemia and anion gap metabolic acidosis. CONCLUSION: Recognition of lipemic serum in the setting of an otherwise unexplained anion gap metabolic acidosis should prompt the clinician to obtain a blood gas sample for true determination of the acid-base status. Doing so may avoid an extensive and expensive metabolic work-up.