Tuberculous arthritis in a hemodialysis patient

Tuberculosis (TB) is a relatively common infectious complication in the dialysis population. Most cases are extrapulmonary and pose a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician. Tuberculous arthritis is a rare form of extrapulmonary TB occurring in approximately 1% of cases in nonuremics. Only 1 case in a dialysis patient (not proven by positive synovial fluid culture) has been reported. We report here a culture-proven case of tuberculous arthritis in a hemodialysis patient which masqueraded as an acute septic arthritis. TB should be considered early as an etiologic agent along with synovial biopsy when the exact cause of a monoarthritis has not been discovered, thus avoiding delay in initiation of appropriate therapy.     

Os penis in a hemodialysis patient

A case of os penis in a patient on chronic hemodialysis is described for the first time. Bilateral involvement of the corpora cavernosa was present, covered by an ossification plate.     

Spontaneous hemothorax in a hemodialysis patient

An 8-year-old girl who had undergone chronic hemodialysis for 1 year presented with respiratory distress 24 h after a hemodialysis session. She had a massive pleural effusion of the left chest that was shown to be hemothorax by thoracentesis. After chest tube insertion, drainage was maintained for 2 days. Pleural effusion recurred after withdrawal of the chest tube. The antecubital arteriovenous fistula on the left arm was found to have an excessive flow with a thrill which was felt all over her left shoulder and left hemithorax. The pleural effusion resolved spontaneously a week after ligation of the fistula. Excessive flow in the arteriovenous fistula was thought to be the cause of the hemothorax and should be included in the differential diagnosis of hemothorax in hemodialysis patients. Received January 21, 1997; received in revised form June 27, 1997; accepted July 2, 1997     

Peliosis hepatis in a chronic hemodialysis patient

Peliosis has been described rarely in patients with chronic renal failure. The case reported shows the difficulty of diagnosis in a chronic hemodialysis patient with painful hepatomegaly, chronic ascites and cachexia. The rarity of this lesion under such circumstances, if the etiologies described in the literature are taken into account, is discussed.     

Penile malignant melanoma in a hemodialysis patient

Abstract:   A patient who was receiving hemodialysis treatment developed melanotic macules on the surface of the penis in 2002 and showed a tumor-like mass in the same region in July 2006. The patient presented with a pedunculated tumor of 3 cm in diameter on the right side of his penis. The tumor was resected for biopsy and was diagnosed as malignant melanoma. The melanoma was in stage IIIB with pT4 N1 M0. The patient received interferon-β for a total of three courses. A computed tomography scan in the 10th postoperative month did not find any additional metastatic foci or recurrence of the tumor. In the present case, side effects caused by interferon were not observed. Therefore, particularly in dialysis patients, immune therapy might be favored over anticancer drug treatment.     

Pheochromocytoma in a long-term hemodialysis patient.

A right adrenal tumor was found incidentally by renal echography in a 25-year-old man, who had been on hemodialysis for 4 years. Inquiry and clinical examination suggested pheochromocytoma, which was confirmed by plasma catecholamine measurements. Subsequent adrenalectomy was uneventful. Although hypertension, headache, and diaphoresis are common symptoms in a dialyzed patient, pheochromocytoma has to be eliminated in the presence of this clinical triad.     

Quadriplegia after parathyroidectomy in a hemodialysis patient

We present a case of post-operative iatrogenic quadriplegia, which occurred after subtotal parathyroidectomy. This patient was on long-term hemodialysis for 7 years. The need of prolonged neck extension for this procedure was probably the main risk factor for the spinal cord injury. Systemic hypotension which contributed to the injury in this case, should be anticipated and promptly treated to prevent further damage. Spinal deformities associated with end-stage renal disease may make such patients more susceptible. Since appropriate precautions against potential neurologic damage can be undertaken, we suggest that evaluating carefully for the pre-existing spinal stenosis before a procedure requiring prominent and prolonged hyper-extension of the neck, especially in long-term hemodialysis patients is of paramount importance.     

Kimura's disease in a chronic hemodialysis patient

Eosinophilia is not an uncommon finding in chronic dialysis patients. It is usually benign in nature although definite pathogenesis is unknown. We have encountered a young uremic Chinese adult who developed Kimura's disease after being on maintenance hemodialysis for about 3 years. Asymptomatic eosinophilia had been noted for 1 year and 8 months prior to the development of progressively enlarged neck masses, which leads to the diagnosis of Kimura's disease. In contrast to most cases, eosinophilia was first noticed before the neck masses appeared. There is often a close correlation between Kimura's disease and glomerular disease, where renal involvement is considered as a systemic manifestation. However, we do not have strong evidence to support this relationship between terminal renal failure and Kimura's disease in this patient. To our knowledge, our patient is the first reported case of Kimura's disease occurring in chronic hemodialysis patients. Eosinophilia persisted for nearly 2 years before the neck mass developed and recurred after the excision. Besides, our patient also demonstrated a chronic and recurrent course typical of Kimura's disease.     

EPO-producing gastric carcinoma in a hemodialysis patient

A case of erythrocytosis caused by gastric cancer that produced erythropoietin is described. To the authors’ knowledge, no case of erythropoietin-producing gastric cancer has been reported until now. A 73-year-old man with a 4-year history of maintenance hemodialysis for diabetic nephropathy required phlebotomy. Serum erythropoietin level was 181 mU/mL (181 IU/L). Gastroscopy results showed rough mucosa with hemorrhaging caused by gastric cancer. The patient underwent distal gastrectomy, and serum erythropoietin level decreased to 27.1 mU/mL (27.1 IU/L) by postoperative day 8. Existence of erythropoietin in the tumor tissue was confirmed immunohistochemically. The presence of severe acquired cystic disease of the kidney, renal cell carcinoma, and other malignant tumors should be investigated in hemodialysis patients displaying erythrocytosis.