Bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis with a splenic abscess

Culture-Negative Emphysematous Pyelonephritis as a Complication of Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitus: A Case Report

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a severe, necrotizing infection of the renal parenchyma. It is commonly found as a complication of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM). EPN has a terrible prognosis unless promptly identified and treated. In this case study, a 38-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was admitted due to complaints of excruciating abdominal pain, vomiting, and non-adherent to his insulin medication. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with EPN. For most patients, the current course of treatment includes nephrectomy along with antimicrobial medications. In this case report, however, the patient improved with conservative treatment such as IV fluids, antibiotics, and blood glucose control.

A review of anatomy, pathology, and disease spread in the perisplenic region

The perisplenic region is a complex anatomical area involving multiple peritoneal and subperitoneal structures, which influence the presentation and behavior of various pathologic processes. This review is a comprehensive resource for perisplenic anatomy and pathology with associated clinical presentations and imaging findings. Understanding the pathophysiologic intricacies of the perisplenic region assists the radiologist in building a helpful differential diagnosis and recognizing predictable disease patterns.

Coexistence of emphysematous cystitis and bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis: a case report and review of the literature

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a necrotizing infection characterized by the production of gas in the renal parenchyma, collecting system or perirenal tissue. Meanwhile, emphysematous cystitis (EC) is a clinical entity characterized by the presence of gas inside and around the bladder wall. Interestingly, although both diseases are common in patients with diabetes mellitus, these are rarely combined. We report a rare case of a 56-year-old diabetic male suffering from fever, headache and vomiting and in which a diagnosis of septic shock was established due to coexistence of EC and bilateral EPN. The emphysematous diseases improved with a conservative treatment approach using antibiotic therapy and glycemic control, we highlight that the nephrectomy was not necessary in our patient despite the fact that he presented risk factors that predict the failure of conservative treatment.

Risk of SOFA Deterioration in Conservative Treatment for Emphysematous Pyelonephritis: Pitfalls of Current Trends in Therapeutics from Multicenter Clinical Experience

INTRODUCTION

We investigated relationships between therapeutic outcomes of patients with emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) and changes in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated EPN patients treated in our hospitals using the SOFA score incorporated in the Sepsis-3 updated in 2016.

RESULTS

Seventeen typical EPN patients were included in this study, and were treated with medical management with no drainage (n = 3), retrograde stenting (n = 10), or percutaneous drainage (n = 3). One patient without drainage died of sepsis, yielding an overall mortality rate of 5.9%. Twelve patients recovered without increase in the SOFA score during hospitalization. However, the SOFA score deteriorated in the other patients from admission, with the initial scores not significantly different from those of the 12 cases. The changes in the SOFA score were significantly affected by the selected approaches of drainage (100% patients for no drainage, 22% for stenting, and 0% for percutaneous drainage, p = 0.029), but not by other clinical data.

CONCLUSION

Most EPN patients can currently be conservatively managed successfully. However, it should be noted that less-invasive management could cause deterioration in SOFA after admission, yielding a risk of septic mortality.

Bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis cured by antibiotics alone in a black African woman

A 78-year-old black woman with a 10-year history of diabetes mellitus was admitted to the intensive care unit. Upon admission, she presented with chills, nausea, and left flank pain. The presence of hyperglycemia (fasting blood glucose, 19.7 mmol/L) and an altered consciousness required immediate treatment with insulin analog. Laboratory investigations and enhanced computed tomography scan led to the diagnosis of bilateral emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN). The patient responded well to conservative treatment with antibiotics, and was finally discharged after 22 days when the computed tomography scan showed resolution of all the pockets of air. This case and associated literature review of 25 previously reported cases of bilateral EPN show the changing trend of EPN management from emergency nephrectomy toward conservative treatment with potent antibiotics and/or percutaneous drainage, and has been associated with higher survival rates compared to emergency nephrectomy.

Splenic abscess: Plasmodium vivax with secondary Escherichia coli infection

Splenic abscess is a rare clinical entity as described in literature. The incidence is in the range of 0.14–0.7% and it has a high mortality rate. Hence, it is important to know its clinical presentation and complications, so that it can be treated early. We report a 40-year-old diabetic man who presented with fever with chills and rigor for the last 9 days and heaviness in the left hypochondrium for the last 6 days. He was initially diagnosed as having splenomegaly due to Plasmodium vivax ( P. vivax), but was later found to have a splenic abscess due to Escherichia coli ( E. coli). This was successfully managed by catheter drainage (CD) and antibiotic treatment.