Renal cortical necrosis: A rare complication of Plasmodium vivax malaria

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Mortality in Emphysematous Pyelonephritis Patients: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EP) is a severe necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma which is associated with significant case mortality. We sought to identify the incidence and predictive risk factors associated with EP mortality.

METHODS

Two electronic databases, PubMed and Web of Science, were searched from their inception until June 06, 2021 for relevant articles. Two independent teams reviewed abstracts and extracted data from the selected manuscripts. A meta-analysis has been reported in line with PRISMA 2020 and AMSTAR Guidelines.

RESULTS

Of the 1080 retrieved abstracts, 79 underwent full-text review and 45 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising a total cohort of 1303 patients and 177 mortalities. The pooled prevalence of mortality among the patients with EP disease was 13%. Our analysis found a significantly decreasing trend in mortality rates, an increasing trend in minimally invasive intervention and decreasing trends in emergency nephrectomy in the EP studies from 1985 to 2020. Significant risk factors that were associated with a negative impact on survival of EP patients included sepsis (OR = 15.99), shock (OR = 15.57), disturbance of consciousness (OR = 12.11), thrombocytopenia (OR 7.85), acute renal failure (OR = 5.41), Wan classification I (OR = 4.57), emergency nephrectomy (OR = 3.73), Huang-Tseng classification III-IV (OR = 2.4) and medical management alone (OR = 2.04). Female sex (OR = 0.52) and minimally invasive intervention (OR = 0.47) (percutaneous nephrostomy or ureteral stent placement) were associated with decreased mortality rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study results demonstrated several significant risk factors that could help guide treatment to reduce the mortality risk of EP patients. Clinically, early treatment with a combination of minimally invasive intervention and appropriate medical management may be protective for reducing mortality risk in EP patients.

Comparative study of emphysematous pyelonephritis and pyelonephritis in type 2 diabetes: a single-centre experience

PURPOSE

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have severe complications and high morbidity with poor prognosis as compared to Pyelonephritis. The aim was to study clinical features, microbiological profile, complications of EPN and pyelonephritis in T2D patients.

METHODS

This was a hospital-based prospective study done on 200 T2D patients with upper UTI. Various clinical, biochemical parameters and urine examination and culture were monitored. Patients were followed up for 6 months with respect to number of UTIs, glycemic control and renal parameters.

RESULTS

Pyelonephritis was present in 180(90%) and EPN in 20(10%) of upper UTI patients. Longer duration of diabetes, presence of nephropathy, chronic kidney disease (CKD), hypertension (HTN), history of symptomatic UTI in a prior year, renal calculi and obstruction increase the risk of EPN. Patients with EPN commonly present with vomiting, flank pain altered sensorium and renal tenderness. Complications like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS), multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS), acute kidney injury (AKI) and hypotension occur frequently in EPN as compared to pyelonephritis in T2D patients. Patients with EPN had poor glycemia and lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as compared to pyelonephritis. Bacteriuria was present in 90% and 66.7% of EPN and pyelonephritis patients respectively. E. coli was the most common isolate in both UTI groups. A significant number of EPN patients develop recurrent UTI. Patients with EPN have an improvement in glycemia on follow up, but renal parameters do not improve on follow up, while as pyelonephritis patients have an improvement in glycemia and renal parameters with intensive treatment. Recurrent UTI in upper UTI patients leads to worsening of glycemia and renal parameters.

CONCLUSION

Complications frequently occur in EPN patients as compared to pyelonephritis.

Acute kidney injury due to tropical infectious diseases and animal venoms: a tale of 2 continents

South and Southeast Asia and Latin American together comprise 46 countries and are home to approximately 40% of the world population. The sociopolitical and economic heterogeneity, tropical climate, and malady transitions characteristic of the region strongly influence disease behavior and health care delivery. Acute kidney injury epidemiology mirrors these inequalities. In addition to hospital-acquired acute kidney injury in tertiary care centers, these countries face a large preventable burden of community-acquired acute kidney injury secondary to tropical infectious diseases or animal venoms, affecting previously healthy young individuals. This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical picture, prevention, risk factors, and pathophysiology of acute kidney injury associated with tropical diseases (malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, scrub typhus, and yellow fever) and animal venom (snakes, bees, caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions) in tropical regions of Asia and Latin America, and discusses the potential future challenges due to emerging issues.

Changing picture of renal cortical necrosis in acute kidney injury in developing country

Renal cortical necrosis (RCN) is characterized by patchy or diffuse ischemic destruction of all the elements of renal cortex resulting from significantly diminished renal arterial perfusion due to vascular spasm and microvascular injury. In addition, direct endothelial injury particularly in setting of sepsis, eclampsia, haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and snake bite may lead to endovascular thrombosis with subsequent renal ischemia. Progression to end stage renal disease is a rule in diffuse cortical necrosis. It is a rare cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in developed countries with frequency of 1.9%-2% of all patients with AKI. In contrast, RCN incidence is higher in developing countries ranging between 6%-7% of all causes of AKI. Obstetric complications (septic abortion, puerperal sepsis, abruptio placentae, postpartum haemorrhage and eclampsia) are the main (60%-70%) causes of RCN in developing countries. The remaining 30%-40% cases of RCN are caused by non-obstetrical causes, mostly due to sepsis and HUS. The incidence of RCN ranges from 10% to 30% of all cases of obstetric AKI compared with only 5% in non-gravid patients. In the developed countries, RCN accounts for 2% of all cases of AKI in adults and more than 20% of AKI during the third trimester of pregnancy. The reported incidence of RCN in obstetrical AKI varies between 18%-42.8% in different Indian studies. However, the overall incidence of RCN in pregnancy related AKI has decreased from 20%-30% to 5% in the past two decades in India. Currently RCN accounts for 3% of all causes of AKI. The incidence of RCN in obstetrical AKI was 1.44% in our recent study. HUS is most common cause of RCN in non-obstetrical group, while puerperal sepsis is leading cause of RCN in obstetric group. Because of the catastrophic sequelae of RCN, its prevention and aggressive management should always be important for the better renal outcome and prognosis of the patients.