Patients with chronic renal failure, generally, sufferred from normocytic normochromic anemia caused by decreased level of erythropoietin. But, secondary erythrocytosis has been reported in patients with several renal diseases; renal artery stenosis or throm- bosis, polycystic kidney disease, bilateral hydronephrosis, etc. We report one case of chronic renal failure combined with polycythemia vera. The case was 32 year-old man whose chief complaints were dyspnea, back pain, itching sensation, headache. 6 month ago, the laboratory examination showed only proteinuria and hematuria without deterioration of renal function. The renal function was aggravated with an accelerated course, and bone marrow examination revealed hypercellularity (erythroid predominance), and renal biopsy showed the finding of the end stage of renal disease which may be originated from IgA nephropathy.
Adult ; Anemia ; Back Pain ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow Examination ; Dyspnea ; Erythropoietin ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Headache ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Polycystic Kidney Diseases ; Polycythemia Vera* ; Polycythemia* ; Proteinuria ; Pruritus ; Renal Artery Obstruction ; Sensation

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is an unusual, severe gas-forming infection of renal parenchyma and its surrounding areas. It is a rare cause of septic pulmonary embolism. We report on a case of emphysematous pyelonephritis complicated with renal vein thrombosis and septic pulmonary embolism with review of the literature. A 51-year-old diabetic woman was admitted to our hospital with symptoms of fever, diffuse abdominal pain and nausea. Her initial laboratory findings showed pyuria and leukocytosis. She was diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis with abscess formation on contrast enhanced abdominal CT. She was treated with antibiotics and percutaneous abscess aspiration, but progressed to emphysematous pyelonephritis complicated with renal vein thrombosis and septic pulmonary embolism. Finally she underwent the left total nephrectomy.
Abdominal Pain ; Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Leukocytosis ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; Nephrectomy ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Pyelonephritis ; Pyuria ; Renal Veins ; Sepsis ; Thrombosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The Oxford classification of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a pathology-based prognostic classification system. However, further study is needed to determine its validity. We studied the relationships between the Oxford classification and established prognostic factors and renal survival. We also examined associations between electron microscopy findings and these parameters. METHODS: We reviewed and reclassified 213 patients who were diagnosed with IgAN from 1997 to 2007 using the Oxford and World Health Organization (WHO) classification systems. The patients were also categorized by a pathologist using electron microscopy findings, including foot process fusion, glomerular basement membrane thickness, and electron-dense deposits. We examined the correlations between light and electron microscopy data and known prognostic factors (e.g., age, sex, proteinuria, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], and blood pressure). The same procedure was applied to renal survival. RESULTS: Patient age increased with the grades of segmental sclerosis (S) and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis (T) (P < 0.05). eGFR decreased significantly with increasing mesangial hypercellularity (M) (p = 0.0034), S (p = 0.0003), endocapillary hypercellularity (E) (p = 0.0411), and T (P < 0.0001). MSET differed significantly by sex (P < 0.0001). The 24-h urine protein/creatinine ratio increased significantly with the degrees of S (p = 0.036), E (p = 0.0155), and T (p = 0.015). The serum creatinine level was significantly higher in patients with T2 than T1 or T0 (P < 0.0001). At the time of biopsy, the degree of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis affected the doubling of serum creatinine or end-stage renal disease. However, the electron microscopy findings did not predict the renal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis is significantly associated with proteinuria and renal progression in IgAN.
Biopsy ; Classification ; Creatinine ; Fibrosis ; Foot ; Glomerular Basement Membrane ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Microscopy, Electron ; Pathology* ; Prognosis ; Proteinuria ; Sclerosis ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND: Lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) are well-known environmental pollutants. They are unnecessary in the biological processes of humans. This study was performed to estimate the representative background exposure levels to the metals by measuring concentrations in whole blood of the Korean general population. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study included 4,000 subjects (1,886 males and 2,114 females) 0–83 years of age in 2010 and 2011. Adult subjects (≥ 19 years of age) were collected by sex- and age-stratified probability method, and preschool- and school-aged subjects were recruited by a cluster sampling method. Written consent was provided prior to blood sampling. Pb and Cd blood concentrations were determined by a flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and blood Hg was analyzed by a direct Hg analyzer. RESULTS: The geometric mean, median and 95th percentile of blood Pb was 1.82 µg/dL, 1.83 µg/dL, and 3.78 µg/dL, respectively. The respective values were 2.92 µg/L, 2.87 µg/L, 9.12 µg/L for Hg, and 0.56 µg/L, 0.59 µg/L, 2.20 µg/L for Cd. Blood Pb and Hg were higher in males than in females, but no sex difference was observed, respectively, in subjects 0–4 years of age for Pb and in subjects less than 20 years for Hg. However, blood Cd was higher in females than in males and no sex difference was observed in subjects < 30 years of age. CONCLUSION: This study provides representative data of human exposure to Pb, Hg, and Cd covering whole age groups of the general population in Korea.
Adult ; Biological Processes ; Cadmium ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Environmental Pollutants ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Metals ; Methods ; Sex Characteristics ; Spectrophotometry, Atomic