[Risks acceptability related to obstetrical epidural analgesia]

OBJECTIVES

Evaluation of the acceptability of complications related to obstetrical epidural analgesia in two populations, parturients and anesthesiologists.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective, transversal, single center study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Evaluation of the acceptability of complications associated with obstetric epidural analgesia performed using a questionnaire of six clinical scenarii in two populations: parturients cared at the University maternity of Nancy and anesthesiologists of Lorraine. Patients were interviewed by an anesthesiologist, physicians via Internet. Acceptability was assessed using two tools, the absolute acceptability with a visual analog scale and the relative acceptability obtained by classifying clinical scenario against each other, in ascending order of acceptability.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-six parturients and 87 anesthetists assessed the acceptability of the different scenarios. The three less serious scenarios (hypotension, failure, dural tap) were acceptable for both populations. One case (spinal hematoma) was unacceptable for parturients. Three cases of varying severity (failure, dural tap, plexus injury with sequelae) were judged significantly less acceptable by patients than physicians (5.9 vs. 7.9 [P<0.001], 5.75 vs. 8.1 [P<0.01], 4.1 vs. 5.1 [P=0.035]). Multivariate analysis did not show any predictive factor of acceptability in both populations.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the overall acceptability of the inherent complications of epidural analgesia was good in the two populations. It was essentially based on the notion of severity and preventability. A large interindividual variability was observed and a better acceptance by the anesthesiologists.

Insuffisance rénale aiguë secondaire à la povidone iodée: à propos d'un cas clinique

INTRODUCTION

Using iodine povidone in internal way may be responsible of severe adverse effects, sometimes causing death of the patients.

EXEGESE

A 36th years old woman, with a secondary sterility has benefitted of an uterine opacification by iodine povidone before a laparotomy and a salpingotomy. In post surgery she presented an anuric acute renal failure and a severe anaemia which have needed a transfusion. Outcome was favourable with a recuperation of diuresis and a full normalization of the renal function.

CONCLUSION

The authors recommend to respect the indications of iodine povidone.

[Septicaemia due to Lactobacillus jensenii: bacteriological diagnostic orientation]

Septicaemia concerning Lactobacillus jensenii is exceptional. This bacteria commensal of the normal human flora is known for its low pathogenicity. We report here the observation of a woman, 50 years old, who was admitted in our service for an obstructive acute renal failure and who has presented a septicaemia due to L. jensenii, with a favourable issue by use of antibiotics (amoxicillin-clavulanic acid). This observation permits to report the clinical and bacteriological characteristics of L. jensenii. The importance of the immunodepressed status (diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure) and use of the endoureteral acts is mentioned.

[Acute renal failure following ingestion of Cortinarius orellanus in 12 patients. Initial presentation and progress over a period of 13 years]

INTRODUCTION

This study reports the largest series of acute renal failure following collective poisoning by Cortinarius orellanus since 1957.

PATIENTS

Twelve men, in whom altered renal function appeared following ingestion of mushroom soup (Cortinarius orellanus) when they were 20 to 23 year-old, were followed up for 13 years.

RESULTS

After a period of latency of between 2 to 5 days, the patients complained of asthenia, intense thirst and digestive and neurological disorders. On admission, 4 were anuretic and two exhibited polyuria. Leukocyturia was detected in all patients but without proteinuria. Renal biopsy was performed on day 14 in seven patients. It revealed severe tubulo-interstitial lesions with polymorphous cell infiltration, oedema, loose fibrosis and epithelial necrosis. Eight patients required haemodialysis. Nine patients received corticosteroids for less than 6 months. Over a follow-up period of 13 years, seven patients recovered normal renal function, four underwent transplantation and one was still under haemodialysis and died, victim of a car accident.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of acute renal failure varies from 30 to 46%. It depends on individual sensitivity, pre-existing nephropathy and the cumulated dose of toxin ingested. Early and severe interstitial fibrosis, marked interstitial oedema and tubular epithelial necrosis are the most characteristics renal lesions. Renal failure regresses progressively over several months in 60% of cases. In the other patients, terminal renal failure appears immediately or after several years. The evolution is not influenced by corticosteroid therapy.

[Pancreatic metastasis of renal cell carcinoma: report of three cases]

INTRODUCTION

The pancreas is an uncommon site of metastasis from renal cell carcinoma.

EXEGESIS

Three observations are described in this review which is aimed at reporting recent data on diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic features of this kind of metastasis 0: The average space of time between nephrectomy and the diagnosis of the metastasis was 16 years. They have been fortuitously discovered in 2 cases, in patients who did not complain of any pancreatic symptom, during abdominal ultrasonography done for another reason. In the third case, pancreatic symptoms led to the diagnosis. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) was useful to diagnose multiple lesions misdiagnosed on CT-scan or MRI imaging. EUS patterns are characteristic, but histological and cytological examinations of EUS-guided needle biopsies are difficult to study according to the hypervascularized character of these metastasis.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of pancreatic metastasis must be suggested for patients suffering from a pancreatic mass with a previous medical history of late renal cell carcinoma. According to their hypervascularized character, the negativity of EUS-guided needle biopsies could strongly direct the diagnosis. When surgery is possible, the survival rate is better than in primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma and is even better than in pancreatic metastasis from other sites.

[Macroscopic hematuria associated with sickle cell anemia trait: report of ten cases]

PURPOSE

Though currently asymptomatic, a sickle cell trait can be responsible for renal abnormalities with macroscopic hematuria.

METHODS

Ten patients were admitted to our department with gross hematuria in sickle trait.

RESULTS

Six blacks men and four blacks women, aged from 17 to 53 years, had recurrent episodes of gross hematuria with clots in five patients with lumbar pain in four patients. Duration of gross hematuria varied from two weeks to two years. Imaging findings were normal. Urinary concentration ability was abnormally low in all patients but none had an impairement of the ability to dilute the urine or tubular dysfunction. Resolution of hematuria was obtained by abundant and alkaline hydratation in three patients. In six patients, aminocaproic acid was successfully employed, with a complete (3/6) or partial (3/6) efficiency. In one last patient, oral urea permitted a partial improvement.

CONCLUSION

Combination of chemical and physical factors in renal medullary of sickle cell trait are responsible for gross hematuria and impaired capacity to concentrate the urine. A cautious care must still be given to make this association a diagnostic of exclusion. Clinical is usually benign. When resting and alkaline hydration are not sufficient to resolve hematuria, antifibrinolytic agents such as aprotinin, oral urea, urologic technical are sometimes necessary.

[Acute renal failure during severe malaria: physiopathology and therapeutic management. Apropos of 2 cases]

Renal failure secondary to acute tubular necrosis is a common complication of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The purpose of this report is to describe two cases of severe malaria featuring acute renal failure observed in young patients who had failed to comply with chemoprophylaxis. Occurrence of renal failure was delayed four to seven days in relation to the beginning of the malaria attack. Hemodialysis was required in one case. Both patients were successfully treated by quinine perfusion. The main pathophysiology mechanisms underlying acute tubular necrosis are obstruction of capillaries and post-capillary venules by infected red blood cells and activation of monocytes that release cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor. Other nonspecific mechanisms may come into play including hypovolemia, release of catecholamines and subsequent activation of the rennin-angiotensin system, complement activation, and rhabdomyolysis. Acute tubular necrosis is the main renal complication of Plasmodium falciparum malaria but latent forms of acute glomerulonephritis have also been documented. Prognosis is usually favorable depending mainly on early diagnosis and prompt treatment.

[IgD myeloma manifesting as acute renal insufficiency]

INTRODUCTION

IgD myeloma is a rare disease, comprising only 1-2% of all cases of myeloma.

EXEGESIS

A 71-year-old woman was admitted with acute renal failure, hypercalcemia and IgD lambda multiple myeloma. Dialysis was necessary. Six monthly cures of chemotherapy of induction according to the protocol VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone) allowed to achieve moderate chronic renal failure (serum creatinine = 120 mumol/L). Sixteen months later, the patient developed an abdominal mass due to an IgD plasmocytoma in spite of treatment with interferon alpha and dexamethasone. Chemotherapy with melphalan and dexamethasone allowed to the disappearance of plasmocytoma and remission. The death occurred 36 months after the diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

This observation allows to display the particularities of IgD myeloma: remarkable preponderance of lambda-type light chains, small or no visible monoclonal spike on serum electrophoresis, frequent extraosseous spread of tumor, renal failure and presence of osteolytic lesions. Over the last years, management and prediction of the survival time of IgD myeloma patients have improved.

[Hemolytic-uremic syndrome caused by mitomycin c: long-term management]

We describe the case of a 51-year-old woman who developed a hemolytic uremic syndrome nine weeks after the end of chemotherapy with mitomycin C for cancer of the anus. Episodes of hemolytic uremic syndrome recurred within a period of up to six months. They were treated with plasma infusion and exchange, antiplatelet agents and rigorous control of blood pressure. The patient was followed for eight years. Her blood pressure has been normal without the use of antihypertensive agents and the renal function has remained stable with serum creatinine at 110 mumol/1. The tumor has remained in remission. This case suggests that recovery from the acute phase of hemolytic uremic syndrome leads to good long-term prognosis.

[Eosinophilia and renal pathology]

Although rare, renal involvement during hypereosinophilic syndromes can lead to life-threatening situations. Since eosinophilic renal lesions can occur in a wide range of primary or secondary diseases, diagnosis can pose difficult clinical dilemmas. In some settings, renal lesions may be a predictable complication as in essential hypereosinophilic syndrome or angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia. In other cases, renal lesions may be a highly unusual event secondary to cholesterol embolization, drug-induced reactions, immunoallergic responses, eosinophilic helminthic infection, or maintenance hemodialysis. The mechanisms of renal involvement are complex. In hypereosinophilic syndromes, renal involvement has been attributed to the deleterious effects of eosinophil granules and possibly to micro-emboli from the heart in patients presenting fibroplastic endocarditis or eosinophilic myocarditis. Most secondary forms are usually due to an immuno-allergic process leading to deposit of immune complexes in glomeruli. The effects of polynuclear eosinophils could also be due to release of cytokines and other mediators such as leukotriens. Cholesterol embolization involves a different mechanism in which hypereosinophilia is often moderate and accessory to arteriolar lesions. Eosinophiluria may be observed in any setting but the prognostic value of this finding as well as the mechanism underlying remain unclear.

[Renal manifestations of sarcoidosis. A report of nine cases]

PURPOSE

Clinical renal outbreaks occurring in the course of sarcoidosis are polymorphous.

METHODS

Nine patients presenting with sarcoidosis were followed up for 18 years.

RESULTS

Five patients presented with chronic interstitial nephritis. Renal failure accompanying granuloma was also present in three of them. Corticotherapy allowed rapid improvement in renal function in three patients. In two other cases, late treatment prevented recovery and led to end-stage renal failure in one case. In another case, persistent hypercalciuria was responsible for bilateral nephrolithiasis further treated via extracorporeal lithotrity. One case of mesangial glomerulonephritis and two morbid associations (retroperitoneal fibrosis and Henoch-Schönlein purpura) were observed.

CONCLUSION

Interstitial nephritis is still a severe clinical renal outbreak. Corticotherapy must be prescribed early to avoid renal failure. Calcium metabolism disorders are frequent and often combined with interstitial nephritis. Hypercalcemia can often and rapidly be improved via corticotherapy, while monitoring of hypercalciuria proves to be more difficult. Membranous glomerulonephritis is still the most frequently reported glomerular lesion.

[Important parasitic nephropathies: update from the recent literature]

Renal involvement in parasitic infections are polymorphic. Plasmodium malariae often leads to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis whereas acute tubular necrosis or post-infectious acute glomerulonephritis are observed with Plasmodium falciparum. Urogenital taxis of Schistosoma haematobium is responsible for frequency of chronic tubular and interstitial nephritis. Without specific treatment, the renal function progressively deteriorates and urological complications appear. Schistosoma mansoni mainly leads to mesangial and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Membranoproliferative and membranous glomerulonephritis are reported with loasis. Onchocerca volvulus also leads to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and lipoid nephrosis. Renal involvement with Wuchereria bancrofti is rare. With leishmaniosis, it is often mild but more serious observations are described: acute glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome or acute interstitial nephritis. Renal hydatic cysts are diagnosed in two or three per cent of cases. Surgery is the only treatment. Immunosuppressive or antimalarial treatments seem to be ineffective in the outcome of chronic glomerulonephritis.

[Duodenal leiomyoblastoma. Apropos of a new case and review of the literature]

The authors report a new case of duodenal leiomyoblastoma. Since local anatomical factors were favorable, the tumor was removed by resecting the entire second portion of duodenum with reanastomosis of the remaining ends. This case can be added to the very small number of cases reported in the literature regarding leiomyoblastoma at this site in the gastrointestinal tract. Since diagnostic is difficult, and often made per-operatively following and acute complication, a precise topographical study of the region needs to be performed. It is only by this means that a completely safe operative procedure may be chosen and performed. From an anatomo-pathological viewpoint, several criteria exist to distinguish the potentially benign from the potentially malignant form. However, this remains to be confirmed given the controversial aspects of the subject. Study has mainly involved gastric localisations where a greater number of lesions have been found. At present, only time will show whether these tumors are benign or malignant.