Results of positive cross-match transplantation in African American renal transplant recipients.

Positive cross-match (PXM) renal transplantation has been utilized to address the issue of the increasing demand for transplantation with the shortage of suitable organs. Our primary objective was to analyze the outcomes of African American (AA) PXM renal transplant recipients utilizing AA negative cross-match (NXM) renal transplant recipients as a comparator group. This was a retrospective study consisting of all PXM patients who underwent a desensitization protocol and all AA NXM transplant recipients at the University of Illinois at Chicago from July 2001 to March 2007. We found that AA PXM recipients had significantly lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 1 year than AA NXM (46.2 vs. 60.6, p = 0.007). AA PXM who experienced acute rejection within the first year were more likely to have an eGFR less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) at 1 year compared to their NXM counterparts (45.5% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.034). Positive cross-match renal transplantation in AA seems to be associated with a high degree of AR and severe renal compromise at 1 year. Larger studies are needed to determine if protocols that are associated with good short-term outcomes in non-AA need to be modified for the AA population.

[Triplet pregnancy with HELLP syndrome and transient diabetes insipidus]. / Drillingsschwangerschaft mit HELLP-Syndrom und transientem Diabetes insipidus.

A 35 year old primigravida with a triplet pregnancy developed polyuria and epigastric pain in the 31st week of pregnancy. During that week, emergency cesarean section was performed due to evidence of liver disease and imminent fetal hypoxia. Three girls were delivered who were healthy apart from transient neonatal respiration distress syndrome. Following surgery, the mother developed HELLP syndrome with hemolysis, increased transaminases and thrombocytopenia. She also developed diabetes insipidus with daily urine outputs of up to 7000 ml and poor response to desmopressin. Both the HELLP syndrome and the diabetes insipidus resolved spontaneously within ten days. In pregnant patients with right upper quadrant pain, HELLP syndrome or acute fatty liver of pregnancy should be considered. The association of diabetes insipidus with acute fatty liver of pregnancy is an established, but rare phenomenon. As far as is known, this is the first report of a patient presenting with a combination of HELLP syndrome and diabetes insipidus. Patients with HELLP syndrome have a good prognosis, if the diagnosis is early and the pregnancy terminated at the right time. With close supervision further pregnancies are possible.

Altered body fat distribution in patients with glucocorticoid treatment and in patients on long-term dialysis.

Fat distribution was assessed by computed tomography in normal volunteers (n = 42), patients on long-term dialysis (n = 18), and patients on glucocorticoids [renal transplant patients (n = 49), other diseases (n = 17)]. Patients on glucocorticoids had higher mediastinal (deep) and identical or increased posterior cervical, buccal, and midthigh (superficial) fat areas when compared with normal subjects. The pattern of fat distribution in dialysis patients mimicked the distribution observed in patients taking glucocorticoids. Healthy females had higher ratios of superficial to deep fat than healthy male subjects. Patients on prednisone or on dialysis lost this sex-associated difference in fat distribution. Since patients on prednisone exhibit increased or normal thigh fat depots in the presence of increased mediastinal fat, the current concept that glucocorticoids induce redistribution of body fat from peripheral to central fat compartments has to be revised. Furthermore, disease states and/or glucocorticoids abrogate sex-associated differences in body fat distribution.