[Swelling on the neck]. / Schwellung am Hals.

INTRODUCTION: A 30-year-old female patient presented with a swelling of a cervical left lymph node measuring 1x3 cm, which had been presenting for three weeks. Lymph node excision revealed a metastasis of a malignant melanoma, but the primary tumor was not found. The guidelines recommend neck dissection and adjuvant systemic or immunotherapy. The patient opted for immunotherapy with pembrolizumab and was tumor-free one year later.

[Acute kidney injury-emergency or coincidence?]. / Akute Nierenschädigung - Notfall oder Zufall?

An unifying definition of acute kidney injury as a precursor of acute renal failure has been published in march last year. Its remarkable mortality makes an early diagnosis an important goal. New biomarkers will be an important step to reach this goal in the near future. Depending on the underlying cause, therapeutic actions should be realized as soon as possible to diminish in-hospital mortality and chronic nephropathy. Intensive care units often are the first to test for new active substances.

[Cryoglobulinemia]. / Kryoglobulinämie.

Cryoglobulins are immunoglobulins that precipitate at temperatures below 37 degrees C. They mainly occur in association with hepatitis C but also in other persistent viral infections and autoimmune as well as hematologic diseases. As circulating immune-complexes, they can cause severe tissue damage in virtually all organs, in particular the skin, joints and kidneys. This article gives a review on the different types of cryoglobulinemia, their clinical presentation and current therapeutic strategies.