Crescentic glomerulonephritis and crystals within glomerular capillaries in an AIDS patient treated with foscarnet

A Systematic Review of the Reported Complications Related to Facial and Upper Extremity Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation

INTRODUCTION

Twenty three years after the first successful upper extremity transplantation, the role of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) in the world of transplantation remains controversial. Face and upper extremity reconstruction via transplantation have become successful options for highly selected patients with severe tissue and functional deficit when conventional reconstructive options are no longer available. Despite clear benefit in these situations, VCA has a significant potential for complications that are more frequent when compared to visceral organ transplantation. This study intended to perform an updated systematic review on such complications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MEDLINE database via PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched. Face and upper extremity VCA performed between 1998 and 2021 were included in the study. Relevant media and press conferences reports were also included. Complications related to face and upper extremity VCA were recorded and reviewed including their clinical characteristics and complications.

RESULTS

One hundred fifteen patients underwent facial (43%) or upper extremity (57%) transplantation. Overall, the surgical complication rate was 23%. Acute and chronic rejection was identified in 89% and 11% of patients, respectively. Fifty eight percent of patients experienced opportunistic infection. Impaired glucose metabolism was the most common immunosuppression-related complication other than infection. Nineteen percent of patients ultimately experienced partial or complete allograft loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Complications related to VCA are a significant source of morbidity and potential mortality. Incidence of such complications is higher than previously reported and should be strongly emphasized in patient consent process. Strict patient selection criteria, complex preoperative evaluation, consideration of alternatives, and thorough disclosure to patients should be routinely performed prior to VCA indication.

Drug-Induced Kidney Stones and Crystalline Nephropathy: Pathophysiology, Prevention and Treatment

Drug-induced calculi represent 1-2% of all renal calculi. The drugs reported to produce calculi may be divided into two groups. The first one includes poorly soluble drugs with high urine excretion that favour crystallisation in the urine. Among them, drugs used for the treatment of patients with human immunodeficiency, namely atazanavir and other protease inhibitors, and sulphadiazine used for the treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis, are the most frequent causes. Besides these drugs, about 20 other molecules may induce nephrolithiasis, such as ceftriaxone or ephedrine-containing preparations in subjects receiving high doses or long-term treatment. Calculi analysis by physical methods including infrared spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction is needed to demonstrate the presence of the drug or its metabolites within the calculi. Some drugs may also provoke heavy intra-tubular crystal precipitation causing acute renal failure. Here, the identification of crystalluria or crystals within the kidney tissue in the case of renal biopsy is of major diagnostic value. The second group includes drugs that provoke the formation of urinary calculi as a consequence of their metabolic effects on urinary pH and/or the excretion of calcium, phosphate, oxalate, citrate, uric acid or other purines. Among such metabolically induced calculi are those formed in patients taking uncontrolled calcium/vitamin D supplements, or being treated with carbonic anhydrase inhibitors such as acetazolamide or topiramate. Here, diagnosis relies on a careful clinical inquiry to differentiate between common calculi and metabolically induced calculi, of which the incidence is probably underestimated. Specific patient-dependent risk factors also exist in relation to urine pH, volume of diuresis and other factors, thus providing a basis for preventive or curative measures against stone formation.

HIV-1 infection and the kidney: an evolving challenge in HIV medicine

With the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the incidence of opportunistic infections has declined substantially, and cardiovascular, liver, and renal diseases have emerged as major causes of morbidity and mortality in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Acute renal failure is common in HIV-infected patients and is associated with acute infection and medication-related nephrotoxicity. HIV-associated nephropathy is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease in HIV-positive African American populations and may respond to HAART. Other important HIV-associated renal diseases include HIV immune complex kidney diseases and thrombotic microangiopathy. The increasing importance of non-HIV-associated diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and vascular disease, to the burden of chronic kidney disease has been recognized, focusing attention on prevention and control of these diseases in HIV-positive individuals. HIV-positive individuals who experience progression to end-stage renal disease and who have undetectable HIV-1 viral loads while receiving HAART should be evaluated for renal transplant. Emerging evidence suggests that HIV-positive individuals may have graft and patient survival comparable to HIV-negative individuals. Several studies suggest that HIV-1 can potentially infect renal cells, and HIV transgenic mice have clarified the roles of a number of HIV proteins in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated renal disease. Host factors may modify disease expression at the level of cytokine networks and the renal microvasculature and contribute to the pathogenic effects of HIV-1 infection on the kidney.

Lithiases médicamenteuses

Drug-induced renal calculi represent 1-2% of all renal calculi. They include two categories: those resulting from the urinary crystallisation of a highly excreted, poorly soluble drug or metabolite, and those due to the metabolic effects of a drug. Indinavir, used in HIV-infected patients, sulfonamides, especially sulfadiazine, and triamterene, which is less prescribed today, are the most frequent. Besides these drugs, about twenty other molecules, among them silicate-containing drugs and some antibiotics have been reported in patients receiving high doses or long-term treatments. Calculi analysis by physical methods such as infrared spectroscopy or x-ray diffraction can demonstrate the presence of the drug or its metabolites inside the calculi. In those calculi due to the metabolic effects of a drug, diagnosis relies on both stone analysis and clinical inquiry. Incidence of such calculi is probably underestimated, especially those due to calcium/vitamin D supplements or carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Drug-induced calculi occur more often during high-dose or long term treatments, but there are also patient-related risk factors in relation to urine pH, urine output and other parameters, which can provide a basis for preventive treatment of such calculi. A better knowledge of these lithogenic complications of treatments and of solubility characteristics of drugs should reduce the incidence of drug-induced nephrolithiasis, especially in patients with identified risk factors.

Drug-induced glomerulopathies

Normal renal function depends upon an intact glomerular apparatus. Many drugs and chemicals are capable of damaging the glomerulus, causing its increased permeability to large molecules. Glomerular lesions are usually responsible for proteinuria and the nephrotic syndrome. This also holds true for the drug-induced glomerulopathies, of which membranous glomerulo-nephritis is the most frequent type of lesion encountered. Apart from this, several cases of different glomerular changes such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and crescentic glomerulonephritis have also been reported. The drug-induced glomerulopathies are probably immune mediated. This is, for instance, reflected in the fact that patients with drug-induced nephritic syndrome frequently have the HLA-B8 and DR3 antigens. In depth information is provided for the previously mentioned disorders.

Drug-Induced Renal Calculi

Drug-induced calculi represent 1-2% of all renal calculi. The drugs reported to produce calculi formation may be divided into two groups. The first one includes poorly soluble drugs with high urine excretion that favours crystallisation in the urine. Among poorly soluble molecules, triamterene was the leading cause of drug-containing urinary calculi in the 1970s, and it is still currently responsible for a significant number of calculi. In the last decade, drugs used for the treatment of HIV-infected patients, namely indinavir and sulfadiazine, have become the most frequent cause of drug-containing urinary calculi. Besides these drugs, about twenty other molecules may induce nephrolithiasis in patients receiving long-term treatment or high doses. Calculi analysis by physical methods, including infrared spectroscopy or x-ray diffraction, is needed to demonstrate the presence of the drug or its metabolites within the calculi. The second group includes drugs that provoke urinary calculi as a consequence of their metabolic effects. Here, diagnosis relies on careful clinical inquiry because physical methods are ineffective to differentiate between urinary calculi induced by the metabolic effects of a drug and common metabolic calculi. The incidence of such calculi, especially those resulting from calcium/vitamin D supplementation, is probably underestimated. Although drug-induced urinary calculi most often complicate high-dose, long-duration drug treatments, there also exist specific patient risk factors in relation to urine pH, urine output and other parameters, which provide a basis for preventive or curative treatment of calculi. Better awareness of the possible occurrence of lithogenic complications, preventive measures based on drug solubility characteristics and close surveillance of patients on long-term treatment with drugs with lithogenic potential, especially those with a history of urolithiasis, should reduce the incidence of drug-induced nephrolithiasis.

Foscarnet-induced crystalline glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome and acute renal failure after kidney transplantation

Foscarnet nephrotoxicity has been reported to be associated with acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. Crystals in glomerular capillary lumens have also been observed in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who were treated with foscarnet for cytomegalovirus disease. We describe a kidney transplant recipient who developed a nephrotic syndrome with microscopic hematuria and nonoliguric acute renal failure within 15 days after starting foscarnet therapy for cytomegalovirus infection. A kidney biopsy specimen showed the presence of crystals in all glomeruli and in proximal tubules. Fourier transform infrared microscopy analysis demonstrated that crystals were made from several forms of foscarnet salts: mixed calcium and sodium salts, and unchanged trisodium foscarnet salts. Renal function and proteinuria spontaneously improved, and a second transplant biopsy performed 8 months after the first one revealed fibrotic organization of half of the glomeruli and of interstitial tissue, and crystal vanishing. We were thus able to provide proof of the possible precipitation of foscarnet in a transplanted kidney.

Irreversible glomerular lesions induced by crystal precipitation in a renal transplant after foscarnet therapy for cytomegalovirus infection

AIMS

Foscarnet is an antiviral agent used to treat cytomegalovirus infection in AIDS patients and in transplant recipients. In most cases, foscarnet induces reversible tubulo-interstitial lesions which can be avoided by correct hydration. We report the first case of crystal foscarnet precipitation within glomerular capillaries in a renal transplant.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The recipient, a 49-year-old man, developed a nephrotic syndrome with haematuria and an acute renal failure after foscarnet therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The polarization examination of the first graft biopsy revealed the presence of birefringent crystals within glomeruli and tubules. Infrared analysis attested to the presence of trisodium foscarnet salts and mixed sodium calcium salts coloured by Von Kossa's reaction. A second biopsy showed glomerular sclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy and crystal vanishing. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in situ applied to this biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection.

CONCLUSIONS

These adverse effects might be the result of a toxic synergy between foscarnet and other drugs. In cases with crystalline precipitation, graft biopsy remains the best mean of diagnosis and follow-up of glomerular damage.