[Acute myoglobinuric kidney failure as a consequence of autoaggressive behavior in mental retardation]. / Akutes myoglobinurisches Nierenversagen als Folge von autoaggressivem Verhalten bei Oligophrenie.

A 49-year-old female with mental retardation was admitted with suspected renal insufficiency with a raised creatinine (5.1 mg/dl), hyperkalaemia (5.6 mmol/l), and a 12-hour history of diffuse abdominal pain and persistent vomiting. On admission, she had a haematoma around the right shoulder and arm-pit, swelling of the right upper-arm, and severe limitation of movement of the right hand. These injuries were the result of trauma some 5 days previously. She was a long-term inpatient in a psychiatric clinic, with a history of autoaggressive behaviour, which had led to several fractures in the past as a result of falls. The creatinine kinase was elevated to 6680 U/l. The suspected diagnosis of acute oliguric renal failure due to rhabdomyolysis was confirmed by the presence of marked myoglobinuria (409 ng/ml). Because of the delay in diagnosis, acute renal failure developed, and the patient required haemodialysis for 20 days. Because of their many predisposing factors, psychiatric patients represent a special risk group for development of rhabdomyolysis, recognition of which is often delayed.

OACE inhibition does not interfere with acute extrarenal or renal potassium disposal in chronic renal failure.

The influence of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition on acute extrarenal and renal potassium elimination in stable chronic renal failure has been examined in 10 male patients median age 44 y; mean CLCR 42 ml.min-1.1.73 m-2. In a double blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study, K+ 0.3 or 0.4 mmol.kg-1 body weight was infused IV on two occasions while the patients also received an infusion either of placebo or 0.5 mg of the ACE inhibitor perindoprilat in random order. Plasma K+ levels and urinary K+ excretion were measured at regular intervals. During the study patients adhered to an isocaloric diet providing a standardised daily intake of potassium and sodium (50 mmol K+ and 40 mmol Na+). The median rise in plasma K+ was not significantly different after placebo (delta K 0.66 mmol.l-1) compared with to the infusion of perindoprilat (delta K 0.66 mmol.l-1). The median baseline urinary K+ excretion rate was 6.5 mmol.3 h-1 before the placebo infusion and 5.9 mmol.3 h-1 before infusion of perindoprilat. During the potassium load, the urinary excretion rate rose to 16.1 mmol.3 h-1 (after placebo) and 15.1 mmol.3 h-1 after perindoprilat in the first 3 h, and it returned almost to the baseline value within the next 3 h (5.6 mmol.3 h-1 after placebo and 5.7 mmol.3 h-1 after perindoprilat); the differences were not statistically significant. With perindoprilat a decrease in mean arterial blood pressure and ACE activity, an increase in renin plasma activity and a decrease in aldosterone concentrations were observed compared to the placebo infusion. There was no significant differences plasma in adrenaline or insulin levels after either infusion. Thus, ACE inhibition did not interfere either with the extrarenal or the renal disposal of an acute potassium load in patients with chronic renal failure.

Scleroderma renal crisis as a presenting feature in the absence of skin involvement.

A 56-year-old man was admitted to the nephrology unit with a short (6-week) history of severe hypertension that necessitated renal replacement therapy within 7 days after admission. Renal biopsy showed features of thrombotic microangiopathy in arterioles and small arteries with occluding thrombi. The skin was unremarkable at the time of admission. Progressive skin lesions with scleroderma, telangiectasia, sclerodactyly, and generalized cutaneous sclerosis developed within 4 weeks and the specific skin changes were found on skin biopsy. On admission antinuclear antibody titers were high (1:10, 240) with a nucleolar pattern, and PM-Scl antibodies (1:5, 120) were present. In the present case the diagnosis of scleroderma renal crisis was made in vivo by renal biopsy. Renal and skin biopsies documented that renal lesions may precede the clinically manifest skin lesions of progressive systemic sclerosis.