Septic Pulmonary Emboli or Pulmonary Metastasis in a Patient with Diabetes Mellitus? J Clin Med. 2018;7. [PMID: 30011937 PMCID: PMC6068752 DOI: 10.3390/jcm7070176]

Bilateral Pneumonia and Emphysematous Pyelonephritis as an Inaugural Presentation of Diabetes: A Case Report and Review of Literature

We present a case of a 60-year-old male who presented with fever, shortness of breath, left upper quadrant pain accompanied by rigors and chills with a two-week history of productive cough. He had left upper quadrant tenderness and bilateral chest crepitations. The patient became tachypneic, dyspneic, and rapidly progressed to septic shock. Chest x-ray findings of bilateral pulmonary infiltrates on admission were not correlating with the severity of his clinical picture, and blood glucose levels were very high despite a negative prior history of diabetes. Abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) scans revealed left-sided emphysematous pyelonephritis, which was promptly managed by intravenous antibiotics and CT-guided percutaneous drainage, in addition to glycemic control. This was followed by clinical improvement and resolution of the sepsis. This case sheds light on a possible life-threatening manifestation of the hematogenous spread of pneumonia in uncontrolled diabetic patients, and can even be a de novo presentation of diabetes.

Point-of-care ultrasound for the early diagnosis of emphysematous pyelonephritis: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare but fatal necrotic infection of the kidney, which usually leads to septic shock. Therefore, early diagnosis and optimized therapy are of paramount importance. In the past two decades, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been widely used in clinical practice, especially in emergency and critical care settings, and helps to rapidly identify the source of infection in sepsis. We report a rare case in which a “falls” sign on POCUS played a pivotal role in the early diagnosis of EPN.

CASE SUMMARY

A 57-year-old man presented with fever and lumbago for 3 d prior to admission. He went to the emergency room, and the initial POCUS detected gas bubbles in the hepatorenal space showing a hyperechoic focus with dirty shadowing and comet-tail artifacts. This imaging feature was like a mini waterfall. His blood and urine culture demonstrated Escherichia coli bacteremia, and EPN associated with septic shock was diagnosed. The patient did not respond to broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment and a perirenal abscess developed. He subsequently underwent computed tomography-guided percutaneous catheter drainage, and fully recovered. We also review the literature on the sonographic features of POCUS in EPN.

CONCLUSION

This case indicates that a “falls” sign on POCUS facilitates the rapid diagnosis of severe EPN at the bedside.