Guillermo Gallo

The hemolytic-uremic syndrome: Renal status of 76 patients at long-term follow-up

Follow-up data on 76 patients, who were observed during the acute phase of the hemolytic-uremic syndrome, are presented for periods of time ranging from 1 to 8 years (mean, 3 years). A significant number of these children have evidence of prolonged renal involvement, and in some of them the disease is progressive.

Extrarenal involvement in diarrhoea-associated haemolytic-uraemic syndrome

A review of extrarenal involvement in diarrhoea-associated haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS) is based on 64 of our autopsied patients and an update of the literature.Large bowel pathology was the commonest (29 cases), followed by the central nervous system (21 cases), the heart (19 cases) and the pancreas (19 cases). The severity of systemic involvement was associated with the magnitude of renal compromise and the prognosis of the acute phase. Diarrhoea-associated HUS is described as a multiorgan entity, due to extensive microvascular damage and thrombosis. At present mortality during the acute phase is not confined to renal failure; systemic involvement can also lead to death.

Development of focal segmental sclerosis and hyalinosis in hemolytic uremic syndrome

Abstract. Renal biopsies from 19 boys and 11 girls, most with moderate or severe forms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) of the classic diarrhea-associated type, were analyzed as part of their long-term follow-up. Patients were biopsied because of late or persistent proteinuria, hypertension, and prolonged renal failure. The median length of follow-up was 11.2 years (range 0.9 – 22.0 years). Four histological groups were identified: focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and hyalinosis (FSGSH) (17 patients), diffuse mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (DMPGN) (9 patients), diffuse glomerulosclerosis (2 patients), and minimal glomerular changes (2 patients). The median interval between the onset of disease and renal biopsy was significantly shorter in DMPGN than in FSGSH (P <0.001). The pathological findings may be the expression of two different stages of the same dynamic process: a regular sequence of glomerular lesions consisting of early DMPGN, followed by FSGSH. This lesion would ultimately lead to the final stage of global glomerulosclerosis. At the last examination, only a quarter of the patients had normal renal function. These observations also confirm that prolonged oligoanuria during the acute stage of HUS frequently results in an unfavorable long-term prognosis.

Acute renal failure in typical Kawasaki disease

Abstract Few cases of Kawasaki disease with acute renal failure have been described and only three articles report histological findings. We present an 8-year-old boy with typical Kawasaki disease and acute renal failure who did not require dialysis and had a complete recovery. Pathological findings in percutaneous biopsy included tubulointerstitial nephropathy with mild mesangial expansion, without vessel involvement or deposits in basal membrane. These findings were similar to those previously reported. We also detected apoptotic bodies in tubules.