Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a life-threatening renal infection caused by gas-producing bacteria and fungi. It usually occurs in patients with diabetes and patients with urinary tract obstruction. A combination of systemic antibiotics, percutaneous catheter drainage, or open nephrectomy is typically required to achieve cure. Because of grim prognosis, resorting to interventional methods is frequently inevitable. We report the case of a 77-year-old woman with diabetes and end-stage renal disease on chronic hemodialysis that presented with fever and left flank pain. A bubbly gas pattern inside the left kidney was demonstrated on abdominal computed tomography scan and blood cultures grew Escherichia coli. She was successfully treated solely with systemic antibiotics. This highlights the fact that prompt recognition of imaging findings associated with benign prognosis is essential for a favorable outcome. It allows for an effective management avoiding high-risk interventions, especially in frail patients with multiple comorbidities. Finally, we review all published cases of EPN in chronic dialysis patients.

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Abnormal bone architecture contributes to high incidence of hip fractures in chronichemodialysis (HD) patients. Their clinical epidemiology is incompletely described. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the implications ofhospitalization with hip fracture in HD patients compared to the nonchronic kidney disease population. Thirty-three chronic HD patients admitted with hip fracture overfiveyears were age- and sex-matched on a 1:1 ratio with controls that had hip fracture and normal renal function. Demographic characteristics, deaths, and readmissions atsixmonths,hospitalization length, time to operation, and laboratory resultswere recorded from electronic health files. Datawere compared betweenthe two groups usingpairedt-test for continuous variables and McNemar's test for categoricalvariables. The compositeendpoint of deathand/or readmission at6 months was higher in HD patients (12.1% vs. 6.2%, P<0.001). Furthermore, mean time tooperationwas more delayed due to comorbidities (4.7 vs. 2.9 days, p = 0.04). HD patients had anemia more frequently at presentation (hemoglobin below 10 mg/dL, 32.1% vs. 12.5%, P = 0.003). Finally, they were more likely to be considered toofrail for surgery and not be operated (21.2% vs. 6.2%, P<0.001). Hip fractures are associated with increased morbidity and mortality and represent an important health-care burden for chronic HD patients. Future research is needed to identify definite predictors of adverse outcomes and to implement prevention strategies.

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