Anxiety and Depression Disorders in Adults on Chronic Hemodialysis.

Mood disorders are common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and may increase morbidity and mortality in adults on chronic hemodialysis (HD), affecting their quality of life (QOL). We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with anxiety and depression in ESRD patients on chronic HD. Thirty-nine HD patients were assessed for anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. The HADS scores were correlated with demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters. According to the HADS scores, depression and anxiety were found, respectively, in 11 (28.2%) and in nine (23.1%) patients. Both depression and anxiety were found in four (10.3%) patients. The average depression score was 7.4 ± 4.2; the average anxiety score was 7.7 ± 4.6. The depression score correlated significantly with the number of medications (r = 0.46, P = 0.003) and phosphatase alcalin (r = -0.37; P = 0.022); the anxiety score correlated significantly with the number of medications only (r = 0.36, P = 0.022). The risk factors associated with anxiety were age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-1.2; P = 0.025] and sleep disturbances (OR = 6.74; 95% CI: 1.49-30.4; P = 0.016), and only diabetes was a risk factor associated with depression (OR = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.94-16.9; P = 0.009). The screening and management of depression and anxiety would improve the QOL of patients on chronic HD.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis in the military hospital of Morocco: Causes and outcomes.

Granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) is a rare cause of renal failure. Most frequent etiologies are sarcoidosis, drugs, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and infections agents (particularly renal tuberculosis). The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical features, causes, and outcomes of patients with GIN in adult patients in a region of Morocco. All native renal biopsy (January 2008 to December 2017) were reviewed, but only cases of GIN were analyzed. Eleven cases of GIN were identified in this study, constituting 2.7 % of all native renal biopsies performed on this period (n = 407). There were 7 (63.6%) women, and the average age was 44.2 ± 13.9 years. The mean serum creatinine level at the renal biopsy was 39.1 ± 20.7 mg/L. The most common etiology was sarcoidosis (45.4%, n = 5) followed by drug-induced GIN (27.2%, n = 3). A good renal outcome was reported in patients with drug-induced GIN and sarcoidosis. However, no renal recovery was described in patients with other etiologies. One information from our report and the previously studies is that better data collection systems such as biopsy registries are needed to provide data on the epidemiology and treatment of rare kidney diseases.

Cryoglobulinemia in a moroccan nephrology department.

Cryoglobulinemia is a rare cause of kidney disease that occurs in patients with various diseases. Renal involvement often occurs after appearance of various clinical manifestations dominated by purpura and neuropathy. The aim of this study is to describe clinical, biological, and pathological characteristics of cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis (GN), as well as treatment and outcome. This is a retrospective study including all patients with positive cryoglobulin test and biopsy-proven GN secondary to cryoglobulinemia. Fourteen patients with cryoglobulinemic GN were collected. Their mean age was 46.92 ± 15.82 years with male predominance (64.28%). Weight loss, fever (71.42%), and purpuric rash (57.14%) were the main extrarenal manifestations. Eight patients presented with nephrotic syndrome (NS), associated with renal impairment in three patients. Four patients had rapidly progressive GN and two patients had acute kidney injury. Renal biopsy, performed in all patients, revealed membranoproliferative GN with glomerular thrombi in all patients. Crescents and necrotizing vasculitis were present in four patients. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was the most common etiology. Antivirals and steroids or other immunosuppressive agents were used in most of the patients. During follow-up, complete response was observed in three patients and partial response was observed in four patients. Five patients had no response with renal injury requiring hemodialysis. NS with hematuria and renal insufficiency were the main clinical manifestations of cryoglobulinemic GN. In our study, HCV infection dominated the etiologies, although not well described earlier. A half of our patients had poor outcome even after antiviral and immunosuppressive therapy.

Acute interstitial nephritis in the military hospital of Morocco: Clinical features and renal outcomes.

Acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) is a common cause of acute kidney injury, possibly with increasing incidence over recent years; therefore, epidemiological studies provide important information for clinical practice and investigations. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical features and outcome of patients with biopsy-proven AIN in a region of Morocco. All native renal biopsies (January 2008 to December 2017) on adults were reviewed, but only AIN cases were analyzed. Of the 407 renal biopsies performed in this period, 30 patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 47.1 ± 16.7 years; female gender was preponderant (60%). At the time of biopsy, the serum creatinine level was 33.9 ± 11.8 mg/L. The classic triad of fever, skin rash, and eosinophilia occurred in three (10%) patients. The common causes of AIN were drugs in 13 (43.3%) patients followed by autoimmune diseases in 11 (33.3%) patients. At six months postbiopsy, 26.7%, 33.3%, and 40% had partial, complete, and no recovery, respectively. In this study, a good outcome was associated with autoimmune diseases (P = 0.02) and with a higher intensity of interstitial edema (P = 0.01). However, a presence of a granuloma (P = 0.04), a higher percentage of interstitial fibrosis (P <0.01), and glomerulo-sclerosis (P <0.01) were associated with no recovery and steroids seem to have no effect in the recovery (P = 0.14).This information provides a contribution toward understanding the epidemiology of acute renal failure in Africa, with implications in planning future prospective studies.

Histopathological study of nephrotic syndrome in adults: A Moroccan report.

The reported causes of nephrotic syndrome (NS) varies between different countries. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the underlying causes of NS in adult patients who underwent renal biopsy in a region of Morocco and we also determined the distribution of histopathological diagnoses with regard to the age subgroups and genders from January 2007 to December 2016. Patients were divided into four groups according to age at the time of renal biopsy. A total of the 257 patients with NS were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 40.9 ± 16.7 years; male gender was preponderant (61.9%). One hundred and sixty-six (64.6 %) and 81 (35.4%) patients were diagnosed as primary and secondary glomerulonephritis, respectively. The most common diagnosis in NS was membranous nephropathy (MN) (22.2%), followed by minimal change disease (MCD) (20.6%), and lupus nephritis (LN) (13.6%). Among the patients aged 15-30, 31-45, 46-60, and >61 years, the most common cause of NS was MCD (32.1%), MN (29.6 %), MN (26.1%), and amyloidosis (AM) (28.2%), respectively. The proportion of patients with MCD and LN decreased in parallel with patient age and the proportion of patients with renal AM increased in parallel with patient age. Among the female patients aged 15-30 and 31-45 years, LN was the leading cause of NS (41.5 and 36.7%, respectively). Among the male patients aged 15-30 years, MCD was the leading cause of NS (43.2%). Our study over 10 years represents an important data of regional variations of glomerular diseases presenting with adult-onset NS.

Gastrointestinal bleeding due to angiodysplasia in patients on hemodialysis: A single-center study.

Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding due to angiodysplastic lesions is a common problem among patients receiving hemodialysis (HD). We studied 22 HD patients (5 females and 17 males) who had GI bleeding due to angiodysplasia; the mean age of whom was 54 ± 10 years. All patients had upper and lower GI endoscopy. The most common site for the lesion was the right colon in seven cases (31.8%), followed by stomach in 4 cases (18.1%). In eight (36.3%) patients, there were multiple lesions located in the stomach, duodenum, and the right colon. All patients were treated with coagulation; with argon plasma in 14 (63.6%) patients, bipolar coagulation in five (22.7%) patients, and hot clip in three (13.6%) patients. One patient who presented with persistent bleeding despite endoscopic therapy was well-benefited of a complementary treatment, thalidomide. Hemostasis was obtained in all patients after an average of 6.8 sessions of endoscopic coagulation procedure. We conclude that angiodysplasia is a frequent cause of hemorrhage in chronic renal failure that can be managed in most patients by argon plasma and bipolar coagulation.

[Acute renal failure as a complication of Mediterranean spotted fever]. / Fièvre boutonneuse méditerranéenne compliquée d'insuffisance rénale aiguë.

The Mediterranean spotted fever is a bacterial infection caused by Rickettsia Conorii mainly around Mediterranean basin. It is often considered like a trivial infection. However, severe forms with a high morbidity and high mortality risk have been described. These forms often associate with impaired consciousness, abnormal liver function, impaired homeostasis, pneumonia and acute renal failure. Several mechanisms of renal damage during the Mediterranean spotted fever have been reported, their pathogenesis remains speculative and the prognosis is determined by the type of renal disease and on early treatment. Thus, rickettsiosis should be considered in combination of acute renal, hepatic cytolysis and thrombocytopenia, allowing rapid achievement of a specific treatment.

Infective endocarditis in chronic hemodialysis patients: experience from Morocco.

Since the 1960s, regular hemodialysis (HD) was recognized as a risk factor for the development of infective endocarditis (IE), particularly at vascular access sites. The present report describes our experience at the Etat Major General Agadir, Morocco, of taking care of IE in patients on regular dialysis. A retrospective analysis was made of five cases of IE in patients receiving regular HD having arteriovenous fistula as vascular access. They were sent from four private centers and admitted in our formation between January 2004 and March 2009. Infective endocarditis was detected after 34.5 months following initiation of dialysis. The causative organisms included Staphylococcus and Enterococcus in two cases each and negative blood culture in one case. A recent history of infection (<3 months) of the vascular access was found in three cases. Peripheric embolic phenomena were noted in two cases. A pre-existing heart disease was common and contributed to heart failure. Mortality was frequent due to valvular perforations and congestive heart failure, making the medical treatment alone unsatisfactory. Two patients survived and three of our patients received a prosthetic valve replacement, with a median survival after surgery of 10.3 months/person. The clinical diagnosis of infective endocarditis in regularly dialyzed patients remains difficult, with the presence of vascular calcification as a common risk factor. The vascular catheter infections are the cardinal gateway of pathogenic organisms, which are mainly Staphylococcus. The prognosis is bad and the mortality is significant, whereas medical and surgical treatments are often established in these patients who have many factors of comorbidity.

[Clinical case of acute renal failure revealing an autoimmune hypothyroidism]. / Insuffisance rénale aiguë révélant une hypothyroïdie auto-immune.

Although the clinic picture is often indicative of muscle manifestations in patients with hypothyroidism, signs and symptoms of this condition are variable from simple elevation of serum muscle enzymes with myalgia, muscle weakness, cramps to rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure which remains a rare event. Thyroid hormones affect the function of almost every body organ, and thyroid dysfunction produces a wide range of metabolic disturbances. Hypothyroidism is associated with significant effects on the kidney which the pathophysiology seems to be multifactorial, but the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood. Hypothyroidism as a cause of renal impairment is usually overlooked, leading to unnecessary diagnostic procedures. The main objective of our observation is to report a case of acute renal failure revealing an autoimmune hypothyroidism in which thyroid hormone substitution led to a significant improvement in muscular, thyroid and renal disorders.