Acute renal failure, microangiopathic haemolytic anemia, and secondary oxalosis in a young female patient.

A 29-year old female presented with a one-week history of vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and headache. On admission, she had acute renal failure requiring dialysis. Tests revealed a hemolytic anemia with thrombocytopenia. An initial diagnosis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic microangiopathy was made and plasma exchange was instigated. However, renal biopsy did not show thrombotic microangiopathy but instead revealed acute kidney injury with mild tubulointerstitial nephritis and numerous oxalate crystals, predominantly in the distal tubules. The patient had been taking large doses (>1100 mg daily) of vitamin C for many months. She also gave a history of sclerotherapy using injections of an ethylene glycol derivative for superficial leg veins. The patient completed five sessions of plasma exchange and was able to discontinue dialysis. She eventually achieved full renal recovery. She has now discontinued sclerotherapy and vitamin supplementation.

Effect of increased pump flow on hepatic blood flow and systemic inflammatory response following on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

UNLABELLED: Reduced organ perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is responsible for morbidity associated with cardiac surgery. Non-pulsatile flow and hypothermia during CPB have been shown to cause reduced perfusion. During CPB, cardiac output is directly proportional to the pump flow rate. Therefore, we hypothesised that increasing pump flow during hypothermic CPB would improve organ perfusion and reduce the inflammatory response in the post-operative period. METHODS: Ethics committee approval was obtained. Twelve consecutive patients with good or moderate left ventricular function undergoing elective or inpatient coronary artery bypass grafting were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Patients were randomised to receive either normal flow or higher pump flow (20% more than the usual flow during hypothermia). Hepatic blood flow, cytokines such as interleukins 1ß, 6, 8, 10 and 12, tumour necrosis factor-α and complements C3a, C4a and C5a were measured during the peri-operative period. Data were analysed using SPSS (ver.15). Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test and trends in cytokines were compared using a repeated measures ANOVA test. RESULTS: Both the groups were similar in pre- and peri-operative variables. Hepatic blood flow almost doubled in the high-pump-flow group following an increase in the flow rate during hypothermia(p=0.026). The release of serum complement IL-6 and 8 appeared to be reduced in the high-flow group; however, the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Higher pump flows during hypothermic CPB increase hepatic blood flow. There was a trend towards attenuation of post-operative inflammatory response; however, larger studies will be needed to confirm these findings.

Comparison of intact and 'whole molecule' parathyroid hormone assays in patients with histologically confirmed post-renal transplant osteodystrophy.

BACKGROUND: Fragments of parathyroid hormone (PTH) have been identified (amino acids 7-84) which may interfere with commercially available 'intact molecule' PTH assays. Novel assays which employ an antibody directed to the first seven amino acids of the N-terminus of PTH are thought to be free from cross-reactivity with the 7-84 fragments, and therefore measure true 'whole molecule' PTH. Transplant recipients (as well as those in end-stage renal failure) have been reported to have elevated levels of 'intact' in comparison with 'whole molecule' PTH. METHODS: PTH concentrations were assessed in serum samples obtained from female renal transplant recipients previously classified as either having hyperparathyroid (n = 14) or adynamic bone disease (n = 14) by transiliac crest bone biopsy. PTH was measured as 'whole molecule' (Scantibodies 'whole molecule' PTH) and 'intact' (DPC Immulite 2000 intact PTH and Scantibodies total PTH). RESULTS: Scantibodies 'whole molecule' PTH (all-subject mean 48.7 ng/L, +/- 53.0) were significantly lower than DPC intact (83.5 ng/L, +/- 88.1; P < or = 0.0001) and Scantibodies total PTH (80.5 ng/L, +/- 92.4; P < or = 0.0001). However, the differences between the 'whole molecule' and 'intact' measurements were similar across the two patient groups, and reflected the lower reference range employed by the 'whole molecule' assay. CONCLUSION: The 'whole molecule' PTH assay was unable to discriminate between the two patient populations and provided very little additional clinical information to that obtained from the intact PTH assays.