SUMMARY Acute kidney injury is a very common diagnosis, present in up to 60% of critical patients, and its third main cause is drug toxicity. Nephrotoxicity can be defined as any renal injury caused directly or indirectly by medications, with acute renal failure, tubulopathies, and glomerulopathies as common clinical presentations. Some examples of drugs commonly associated with the acute reduction of glomerular filtration rate are anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, such as vancomycin and aminoglycosides, and chemotherapeutic agents, such as cisplatin and methotrexate. Cases of tubulopathy are very common with amphotericin B, polymyxins, and tenofovir, and cases of glomerulopathies are common with VEGF inhibitors, bisphosphonates, and immunotherapy, and it is also common to have more than one clinical presentation related to a single agent. Early diagnosis is essential for the good evolution of the patient, with a reduction of renal exposure to the toxic agent, which requires knowing the risk factors and biomarkers. General measures such as correcting hydroelectrolytic disorders and hypovolemia, monitoring the serum level, avoiding combinations with the synergy of renal injury, and looking for similar options that are less toxic are the foundations for the treatment of complications that are still common and often preventable.

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fatality rate is high among kidney transplant recipients. Among survivors, kidney outcomes, seroconversion, and persistence of viral shedding are unexplored. Methods. Single-center prospective cohort study including data from kidney transplant recipients with confirmed COVID-19 between March 20, 2020 and July 31, 2020. Outcomes were adjudicated until August 31, 2020 or the date of death. Results. There were 491 patients with COVID-19 among the 11 875 recipients in follow-up. The majority were middle aged with ≥1 comorbidities. Thirty-one percent were treated at home, and 69% required hospitalization. Among the hospitalized, 61% needed intensive care, 75% presented allograft dysfunction, and 46% needed dialysis. The overall 28-day fatality rate was 22% and among hospitalized patients it was 41%. Age (odds ratio, 3.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.86-5.09), diabetes mellitus (odds ratio, 1.69; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.72), and cardiac disease (odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-3.68) were independent factors for death. Among the 351 survivors, 19% sustained renal graft dysfunction, and there were 13 (4%) graft losses. Biopsy (n = 20) findings were diverse but decisive to guide treatment and estimate prognosis. Seroconversion was observed in 79% of the survivors and was associated with disease severity. Persistence of viral shedding was observed in 21% of the patients without detectable clinical implications. Conclusions. This prospective cohort analysis confirms the high 28-day fatality rate of COVID-19, associated primarily with age and comorbidities. The high incidence of allograft dysfunction was associated with a wide range of specific histologic lesions and high rates of sequelae and graft loss. Seroconversion was high and the persistence of viral shedding deserves further studies.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an important public health problem, with a significant impact on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease. Various hypoglycemic therapies have proved to be beneficial to clinical outcomes, while others have failed to provide an improvement in cardiovascular and renal failure, only reducing blood glucose levels.Recently, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, represented by the empagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and canagliflozin, have been showing satisfactory and strong results in several clinical trials, especially regarding the reduction of cardiovascular mortality, reduction of hospitalization due to heart failure, reduction of albuminuria, and long-term maintenance of the glomerular filtration rate. The benefit from SGLT2 inhibitors stems from its main mechanism of action, which occurs in the proximal tubule of the nephron, causing glycosuria, and a consequent increase in natriuresis. This leads to increased sodium intake by the juxtaglomerular apparatus, activating the tubule glomerular-feedback and, finally, reducing intraglomerular hypertension, a frequent physiopathological condition in kidney disease caused by diabetes. In addition, this class of medication presents an appropriate safety profile, and its most frequently reported complication is an increase in the incidence of genital infections.Thus, these hypoglycemic agents gained space in practical recommendations for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and should be part of the initial therapeutic approach to provide, in addition to glycemic control, cardiovascular outcomes, and the renoprotection in the long term. SGLT-2 INHIBITORS IN DIABETES: A FOCUS ON RENOPROTECTIONREV ASSOC MED BRAS 2020; 66(SUPPL 1):S17-S24 PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Diabetes mellitus. Insuficiência renal crônica. Hipoglicemiantes. Inibidores do transportador 2 de sódio-glicose.