Background. Uric acid can acutely activate various inflammatory transcription factors. Since high levels of oxyradicals and lower antioxidant levels in septic patients are believed to result in multiorgan failure, uric acid levels could be used as a marker of oxidative stress and poor prognosis in patients with sepsis. Design. We conducted a prospective cohort study on Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) patients and hypothesized that elevated uric acid in patients with sepsis is predictive of greater morbidity. The primary end point was the correlation between hyperuricemia and the morbidity rate. Secondary end points were Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), mortality, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and duration of stay. Results. We enrolled 144 patients. 54 (37.5%) had the primary end point of hyperuricemia. The overall morbidity rate was 85.2%. The probability of having hyperuricemia along with AKI was 68.5% and without AKI was 31.5%. Meanwhile the probability of having a uric acid value <7 mg/dL along with AKI was 18.9% and without AKI was 81.1% (p value < 0.0001). Conclusion. We report that elevated uric acid levels on arrival to the MICU in patients with sepsis are associated with poor prognosis. These patients are at an increased risk for AKI and ARDS.

Beer potomania, a unique syndrome of hyponatremia, was first reported in 1972. It is described as the excessive intake of alcohol, particularly beer, together with poor dietary solute intake that leads to fatigue, dizziness, and muscular weakness. The low solute content of beer, and suppressive effect of alcohol on proteolysis result in reduced solute delivery to the kidney. The presence of inadequate solute in the kidney eventually causes dilutional hyponatremia secondary to reduced clearance of excess fluid from the body. Early detection of hyponatremia due to beer potomania in the hospital is necessary to carefully manage the patient in order to avoid neurological consequences as this syndrome has unique pathophysiology. We are reporting two cases, presenting to the emergency department with severe hyponatremia. After a detailed initial evaluation of the patients and labs for hyponatremia, a diagnosis of beer potomania was established in both cases. Considering the unique pathophysiology of beer potomania syndrome, the patients were closely monitored and treated appropriately to prevent any neurological sequelae.

Objectives To determine if intraoperative aminophylline was superior to furosemide to prevent or attenuate postoperative cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury. Design Single-center, historical control, retrospective cohort study. Setting PICU, university-affiliated children's hospital. Patients Children with congenital heart disease in PICU who received furosemide or aminophylline to treat intraoperative oliguria. Interventions Intraoperative oliguria was treated either with furosemide (September 2007 to February 2012) or with aminophylline (February 2012 to June 2013). The postoperative 48 hours renal outcomes of the aminophylline group were compared with the furosemide group. The primary outcomes were acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy use at 48 hours postoperatively. Surgical complexity was accounted for by the use of Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 score. Measurements and Main Results The study involves 69 months of observation. There were 200 cases younger than 21 years old reviewed for this study. Eighty-five cases (42.5%) developed acute kidney injury. The aminophylline group patients produced significantly more urine (mL/kg/hr) during the first 8 hours postoperatively than furosemide patients (5.1 vs 3.4 mL/kg/hr; p = 0.01). The urine output at 48 hours postoperatively was similar between the two groups. There was no difference in acute kidney injury incidence at 48 hours between the aminophylline and furosemide groups (38% vs 47%, respectively; p = 0.29). Fewer aminophylline group subjects required renal replacement therapy compared to the furosemide group subjects (n = 1 vs 7, respectively; p = 0.03). In the multi-variant predictive model, intraoperative aminophylline infusion was noted as a negative predictive factor for renal replacement therapy, but not for cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury. Conclusion The intraoperative use of aminophylline was more effective than furosemide in reversal of oliguria in the early postoperative period. There were less renal replacement therapy-requiring acute kidney injury in children in the aminophylline group. Future prospective studies of intraoperative aminophylline to prevent cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury may be warranted. (Pediatr Crit Care Med 2016; 17:753–763)

IgA nephropathy is the most common glomerulonephritis worldwide and typically has minimal signs for chronicity in histopathology at the time of initial presentation. Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is characterized by increased intracranial pressure in the absence of any intracranial lesions, inflammation, or obstruction. PTC has been reported in renal transplant and dialysis patients, but we are unaware of any reports of pseudotumor cerebri in patients with IgA nephropathy. We report a case of a young female who presented with signs and symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri and was subsequently diagnosed with IgA nephropathy and end-stage renal disease. To our knowledge this is the first report of IgA nephropathy presenting as end-stage renal disease in a patient who presented with pseudotumor cerebri.

Background:Chronic kidney disease is an increasingly prevalent health problem with the potential for poor outcome of end-stage renal disease. Hospitalized critically ill patients are prone to acute renal injury from numerous factors such as poor renal perfusion secondary to ischemia and hypotension, nephrotoxin exposure, and intravenous contrast exposure.Aims:We set to explore resident awareness and knowledge about chronic kidney disease management, timely nephrology referrals, preventing inadvertent acute kidney injury (AKI), and the understanding of basic electrolyte physiology.Materials and Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire survey of internal medicine, Medicine/Pediatrics and Family Medicine residents in the United States to determine the knowledge of residents during their training about nephrology.Results:The survey questionnaire was sent out to 270 residents. Forty-seven (17%) respondents completed the survey. Out of them, 57% of the residents chose to refer a patient with an estimated glomerular filtration rate <30 mL/min/1.73 m2 to a nephrologist; 66% felt that it was safe to use aspirin in stage IV chronic kidney disease; 82% did not want to use metformin or Lovenox in stage IV chronic kidney disease; 87% answered that they would make the patient resume angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) about 48-72 h after contrast exposure. Only 7.5% decided to hold angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/ARBs before contrast exposure. Meanwhile, 70% correctly identified the efferent arteriole as the site of action of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/ARBs and 76% identified nitrofurantoin as a contraindication in renal insufficiency.Conclusion:Residency offers a golden opportunity for resident physicians to create a strong foundation of concepts in medicine. There are several basic areas in the field of nephrology that need to be further emphasized during residency training to help improve patient care and potentially decrease the incidence of AKI.