Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in pediatric peritoneal dialysis: risk factors and therapy

Anterior and posterior ischemic optic neuropathy in a child with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis on hemodialysis

BACKGROUND

Ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) is exceedingly rare in children on dialysis, resulting from poor perfusion of the optic nerve, and presents as sudden acute painless vision loss.

CASE-DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT

We report the case of a 3-year-old male with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD 5) due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) status post-bilateral nephrectomy on chronic hemodialysis who had acute loss of vision several hours after a hemodialysis session. Earlier that day, he had a drop in blood pressure intra-dialysis to 89/67 mmHg, with at home blood pressures ranging 90/60 to 150/100 mmHg. The patient was treated with tight blood pressure control to maintain blood flow and prevent blood pressure lability, received high-dose corticosteroids with a corticosteroid taper, and placed on high-dose erythropoietin for neuroprotective effect. He regained partial vision beginning approximately 1 month after presentation.

CONCLUSIONS

The exact cause of our patient's simultaneous bilateral anterior and posterior ION, confirmed via MRI and fundoscopic examination, is unclear; however, is likely secondary to a combination of fluctuating blood pressure, anemia, anephric status, and hemodialysis. This highlights the need for close blood pressure monitoring, management of anemia, and more diligent ophthalmologic screening in pediatric patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Shift from severe hypotension to salt-dependent hypertension in a child with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease after bilateral nephrectomies: a case report

BACKGROUND

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and children. In severe cases bilateral nephrectomies are considered but may be associated with significant neurological complications and life-threatening hypotension.

CASE PRESENTATION

We describe a case of a 17 months old boy with genetically confirmed ARPKD who underwent sequential bilateral nephrectomies at the age of 4 and 10 months. Following the second nephrectomy the boy was started on continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis with blood pressure on the lower range. At the age of 12 months after a few days of poor feeding at home the boy experienced a severe episode of hypotension and coma of Glasgow Come Scale of three. Brain magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) showed signs of hemorrhage, cytotoxic cerebral edema and diffuse cerebral atrophy. During the subsequent 72 h he developed seizures requiring anti-epileptic drug therapy, gradually regained consciousness but remained significantly hypotensive after discontinuation of vasopressors. Thus, he received high doses of sodium chloride orally and intraperitoneally as well as midodrine hydrochloride. His ultrafiltration (UF) was targeted to keep him in mild-to-moderate fluid overload. After two months of stable condition the patient started to develop hypertension requiring four antihypertensive medications. After optimizing peritoneal dialysis to avoid fluid overload and discontinuation of sodium chloride the antihypertensives were discontinued, but hyponatremia with hypotensive episodes reoccurred. Sodium chloride was reintroduced resulting in recurrent salt-dependent hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

Our case report illustrates an unusual course of blood pressure changes following bilateral nephrectomies in an infant with ARPKD and the particular importance of tight regulation of sodium chloride supplementation. The case adds to the scarce literature about clinical sequences of bilateral nephrectomies in infants, and as well highlights the challenge of managing blood pressure in these patients. Further research on the mechanisms and management of blood pressure control is clearly needed.

Early clinical management of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a rare but highly relevant disorder in pediatric nephrology. This genetic disease is mainly caused by variants in the PKHD1 gene and is characterized by fibrocystic hepatorenal phenotypes with major clinical variability. ARPKD frequently presents perinatally, and the management of perinatal and early disease symptoms may be challenging. This review discusses aspects of early manifestations in ARPKD and its clincial management with a special focus on kidney disease.

Severe neurological outcomes after very early bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD)

To test the association between bilateral nephrectomies in patients with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and long-term clinical outcome and to identify risk factors for severe outcomes, a dataset comprising 504 patients from the international registry study ARegPKD was analyzed for characteristics and complications of patients with very early (≤ 3 months; VEBNE) and early (4–15 months; EBNE) bilateral nephrectomies. Patients with very early dialysis (VED, onset ≤ 3 months) without bilateral nephrectomies and patients with total kidney volumes (TKV) comparable to VEBNE infants served as additional control groups. We identified 19 children with VEBNE, 9 with EBNE, 12 with VED and 11 in the TKV control group. VEBNE patients suffered more frequently from severe neurological complications in comparison to all control patients. Very early bilateral nephrectomies and documentation of severe hypotensive episodes were independent risk factors for severe neurological complications. Bilateral nephrectomies within the first 3 months of life are associated with a risk of severe neurological complications later in life. Our data support a very cautious indication of very early bilateral nephrectomies in ARPKD, especially in patients with residual kidney function, and emphasize the importance of avoiding severe hypotensive episodes in this at-risk cohort.

Neuropatía óptica asociada con lesión de Dieulafoy

Objetivo:  describir el caso de un paciente del Hospital de San José de Bogotá con hemorragia del tracto digestivo superior secundaria a lesión de Dieulafoy, que presentó cuadro compatible con neuropatía óptica anterior isquémica no arterítica (NOIANA). Se hace una revisión narrativa y búsqueda sistemática de la literatura para determinar las características clínicas, demográficas, tratamiento y pronóstico visual de los pacientes con NOIANA. Materiales y métodos: reporte de caso, revisión narrativa y búsqueda sistemática de la literatura en las bases de datos Medline (vía Ovid) y Embase de NOIANA secundaria a hipovolemia. Se analizaron las variables sociodemográficas, clínicas, diagnóstico, condiciones asociadas, tratamiento y pronóstico visual. El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante frecuencias absolutas y relativas. Resultados:  la mejoría de agudeza visual final en los pacientes que presentaron un episodio de NOIANA es incierta. En 42% hubo algún tipo de mejoría de la agudeza visual, independiente del tratamiento recibido. Menos del 50% de los casos clínicos reportados incluidos en este estudio que recibieron tratamiento con corticoides intravenosos mejoraron la visión. Discusión: la NOIANA por choque hipovolémico es una entidad infrecuente y poco reportada que puede generar cambios irreversibles en la agudeza visual, por lo que es importante sospecharla y detectarla para dar un manejo oportuno. Este caso de NOIANA es uno de los pocos descritos como secundarios a hemorragia digestiva y el primero asociado con lesión de Dieulafoy.

Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in a Child Receiving Chronic Hemodialysis

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) occurs due to hypoperfusion of the optic nerve and is a rare complication in patients receiving maintenance dialysis. To date, AION has only been reported in 22 children, all of whom were receiving peritoneal dialysis. We report the first case of AION in a 2-year 11-month-old child receiving chronic hemodialysis secondary to polycystic kidney disease from a phosphomannomutase 2 gene mutation. This case highlights the consideration for frequent blood pressure monitoring and ophthalmic screening in a certain cohort of children receiving chronic dialysis.

Bilateral Anterior Ischaemic Optic Neuropathy in a Child on Continuous Peritoneal Dialysis: Case report and literature review

Non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a serious complication of continuous peritoneal dialysis (CPD) which can lead to poor vision and blindness. We report a five-year-old girl who had undergone a bilateral nephrectomy at the age of one year and was on home CPD. She was referred to the Paediatric Ophthalmology Unit of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2013 with acute bilateral vision loss, preceded by a three-day history of poor oral intake. At presentation, the patient had severe systemic hypotension. An ophthalmological examination revealed severe bilateral visual impairment and NAION. She was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone and normal saline boluses. At a five-month follow-up, the visual acuity of the right eye had improved but vision in the left eye remained the same. Acute bilateral blindness due to NAION while on CPD is a rare condition in childhood. Paediatricians should be aware of this complication in order to ensure prompt management.