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Revascularisation of renal arterial stenosis in acute settings, such as uncontrolled arterial hypertension, flash pulmonary oedema and/or acute renal failure, has shown controversial results in observational and prospective studies. Current guidelines do not recommend revascularisation in the occurrence of renal failure as revascularisation and best medical treatment have shown similar long-term outcomes on renal function. We describe a case of acute degradation of the renal function (with oligo-anuria and a peak creatinine of 462 µmol/L) after the re-introduction of an angiotensin-II receptor blocker (irbesartan) in a 66-year-old Caucasian diabetic male patient with bilateral renal stenosis and a right-sided single-functioning kidney, with a rapid improvement of the renal function which normalized 5 days after percutaneous angioplasty and stenting of the right renal artery.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are among the most commonly prescribed medications, and DOAC-associated kidney dysfunction may be a problem that is underrecognized by clinicians. We report on the case of an 82-year-old patient who, two weeks after the prescription of rivaroxaban for atrial fibrillation, was hospitalized for a drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome whose main clinical manifestations were low-grade fever with a petechial rash in the legs and acute renal failure (ARF). Within one week after rivaroxaban withdrawal, the patient’s clinical condition improved and the renal function normalized. In a review of the literature, we only found five case reports of rivaroxaban-related ARF: two patients had tubulo-interstitial nephritis (TIN), two had anticoagulant-related nephropathy (ARN), and the last one had IgA nephropathy. As some recent publications suggest that kidney injury due to anticoagulation drugs may be largely underdiagnosed, we also analyzed the data from the VigiAccess database, the World Health Organization pharmacovigilance program that collects drug-related adverse events from 134 national registries worldwide. Among all the rivaroxaban-associated adverse events reported in VigiAccess since 2006, 4,323 (3.5%) were renal side effects, of which 2,351 (54.3%) were due to unspecified ARF, 363 (8.4%) were due to renal hemorrhage (characteristically associated with ARN), and 24 (0.6%) were due to TIN. We also compared these results with those reported in VigiAccess for other DOACs and vitamin K antagonists. This analysis suggests that the frequency of renal adverse events associated with rivaroxaban and other DOACs may be appreciably higher than what one might currently consider based only on the small number of fully published cases.

Ureteral stenosis is a rare manifestation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosis). We report the case of a 76-year-old woman with progressive renal failure in which bilateral hydronephrosis due to ureteral stenosis was the first manifestation of the disease. Our patient also had renal involvement with pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with high titers of anti-proteinase 3 c-ANCAs, but no involvement of the upper or lower respiratory tract. The hydronephrosis and renal function rapidly improved under immunosuppressive therapy with high-dose corticosteroids and intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide. We reviewed the literature and found only ten other reported cases of granulomatosis with polyangiitis/Wegener’s granulomatosis and intrinsic ureteral stenosis: in two cases, the presenting clinical manifestation was unilateral hydronephrosis and in only two others was the hydronephrosis bilateral, but this complication developed during a relapse of the disease. This case emphasizes the importance of including ANCA-related vasculitis in the differential diagnosis of unusual cases of unilateral or bilateral ureteral stenosis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dose of postdialysis cholecalciferol needed to maintain the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in the optimal range of 75–150 nmol/L. Twenty-six patients who had low baseline 25(OH)D levels (mean 27.5±14.9 nmol/L) were studied. The 25(OH)D levels were measured every 2 months for one year. During the first two months, all the patients received 2000 IU of cholecalciferol after each hemodialysis (=6000 IU/wk). Thereafter, the dose was individualized and adapted every 2 months by administering 1 to 6 cholecalciferol tablets (2000 IU each) per week (total weekly dose = 2000–12000 IU/wk). During cholecalciferol supplementation, the 25(OH)D concentrations rapidly increased from baseline to 140.1±28.3 nmol/L at month 6 and 95.6±20.9 nmol/L at month 12. At month twelve, 86% of the patients had 25(OH)D levels within the target range with a mean dose of 5917±4106 IU/wk of cholecalciferol; however, the amount needed to maintain these levels varied widely from 0 (n=2) to 12000 IU/wk (n=5). In conclusion, postdialysis cholecalciferol prescription is quite effective in correcting vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency, but the amount of cholecalciferol needed to maintain the 25(OH)D levels within the optimal range over the long-term varies widely among patients and must be individualized.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: Diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) relies on measurement of serum creatinine (SCr). SCr is a late marker of impaired renal function. Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (uNGAL) has given encouraging results for an early and sensitive detection of AKI. This cohort study was conducted (1) to assess the value of uNGAL as early marker of contrast-induced AKI (CI-AKI) in unselected patients undergoing percutaneous coronary procedure (PCP) and (2) to investigate whether uNGAL levels correlate with the volume of contrast medium (CM) used during the procedure. METHODS: We enrolled 244 consecutive adult patients undergoing PCP done with the low-osmolar CM Iomeprolum (median volume of CM 122 [88–168] ml per procedure). uNGAL was measured at its peak with a standardised clinical laboratory platform (ARCHITECT uNGAL assay, Abbott). RESULTS: Overall, the post-PCP uNGAL levels were extremely low in our cohort with a median value of 7.7 [4.0–14.5] ng/ml (N ≤132 ng/ml). Twenty-five (10%) patients developed CI-AKI according to the classical diagnostic criteria (≥25% or ≥44.2 µmol/l increase in SCr) and 8 (3.3%) patients according to the AKIN criteria. Regardless of the definition considered, uNGAL levels did not significantly differ in patients with or without CI-AKI. Similarly, we found no significant correlation between the volume of CM used and the post-PCP uNGAL levels (r = –0.11). CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of unselected adult patients, uNGAL measured four to six hours after PCP was ineffective to predict the risk of CI-AKI and did not correlate with the volume of CM used during the procedure.

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is an acute renal injury due to the renal toxicity of iodinated contrast media. It is classically defined as a relative (≥25%) or absolute (≥0.5 mg/dl; 44 μmol/l) increase in serum creatinine from baseline value. CIN accounts for 10 to 15% of hospital-acquired acute renal failure and may rarely lead to irreversible renal function loss. Following percutaneous coronary intervention, reported incidence of CIN varies between 0 to more than 20%, depending on the prevalence of risk factors and used definition. Nowadays, the diagnosis of CIN relays on serum creatinine monitoring, although it is a late marker of acute kidney injury. Given the expanding number of percutaneous coronary interventions made in outpatient settings and the morbidity and mortality associated with CIN, early detection of CIN is of utmost clinical relevance. Several plasmatic and urinary biomarkers have been studied in that view, with plasmatic cystatine-C and urinary NGAL being the most promising. As no treatment specifically targets CIN once it develops, the main goal for clinicians remains prevention, with hydration status optimisation being the only proven strategy to date. Here, we will review the recent evidence concerning CIN, its incidence, proposed early diagnostic biomarkers, as well as its treatment and prognostic implication.