BK nephropathy in the native kidneys of patients with organ transplants: Clinical spectrum of BK infection

Nephropathy secondary to BK virus, a member of the Papoviridae family of viruses, has been recognized for some time as an important cause of allograft dysfunction in renal transplant recipients. In recent times, BK nephropathy(BKN) of the native kidneys has being increasingly recognized as a cause of chronic kidney disease in patients with solid organ transplants, bone marrow transplants and in patients with other clinical entities associated with immunosuppression. In such patients renal dysfunction is often attributed to other factors including nephrotoxicity of medications used to prevent rejection of the transplanted organs. Renal biopsy is required for the diagnosis of BKN. Quantitation of the BK viral load in blood and urine are surrogate diagnostic methods. The treatment of BKN is based on reduction of the immunosuppressive medications. Several compounds have shown antiviral activity, but have not consistently shown to have beneficial effects in BKN. In addition to BKN, BK viral infection can cause severe urinary bladder cystitis, ureteritis and urinary tract obstruction as well as manifestations in other organ systems including the central nervous system, the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal system and the hematopoietic system. BK viral infection has also been implicated in tumorigenesis. The spectrum of clinical manifestations from BK infection and infection from other members of the Papoviridae family is widening. Prevention and treatment of BK infection and infections from other Papovaviruses are subjects of intense research.

Prolonged hypernatremia triggered by hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state with coma: A case report

A man with past lithium use for more than 15 years, but off lithium for two years and not carrying the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or nephrogenic diabetes insipidus(NDI), presented with coma and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state(HHS). Following correction of HHS, he developed persistent hypernatremia accompanied by large volumes of urine with low osmolality and no response to desmopressin injections. Urine osmolality remained < 300 m Osm/kg after injection of vasopressin. Improvement in serum sodium concentration followed the intake of large volumes of water plus administration of amiloride and hydrochlorothiazide. Severe hyperglycemia may trigger symptomatic lithium-induced NDI years after cessation of lithium therapy. Patients with newonset diabetes mellitus who had been on prolonged lithium therapy in the past require monitoring of their serum sodium concentration after hyperglycemic episodes regardless of whether they do or do not carry the diagnosis of NDI.

Advanced wasting in peritoneal dialysis patients

AIM To identify patients with end-stage renal disease treated by peritoneal dialysis(PD) who had zero body fat(BF) as determined by analysis of body composition using anthropometric formulas estimating body water(V) and to compare nutritional parameters between these patients and PD patients whose BF was above zero.METHODS Body weight(W) consists of fat-free mass(FFM) andBF.Anthropometric formulas for calculating V allow the calculation of FFM as V/0.73,where 0.73 is the water fraction of FFM at normal hydration.Wasting from loss of BF has adverse survival outcomes in PD.Advanced wasting was defined as zero BF when V/0.73 is equal to or exceeds W.This study,which analyzed 439 PD patients at their first clearance study,used the Watson formulas estimating V to identify patients with V_(Watson)/0.73 ≥ W and compared their nutritional indices with those of PD patients with V_(Watson)/0.73 < W.RESULTS The study identified at the first clearance study two male patients with V_(Watson)/0.73 ≥ W among 439 patients on PD.Compared to 260 other male patients on PD,the two subjects with advanced wasting had exceptionally low body mass index and serum albumin concentration.The first of the two subjects also had very low values for serum creatinine concentration and total(in urine and spent peritoneal dialysate) creatinine excretion rate while the second subject had an elevated serum creatinine concentration and high creatinine excretion rate due,most probably,to non-compliance with the PD prescription.CONCLUSION Advanced wasting(zero BF) in PD patients,identified by the anthropometric formulas that estimate V,while rare,is associated with indices of poor somatic and visceral nutrition.