The etiology of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) associated with renal failure and hemodialysis is controversial. Possible mechanisms include a shared antigenicity between the kidney and the labyrinths, osmotic alteration caused by hemodialysis, and the ototoxic effect of diuretics. We present 2 cases of SNHL associated with renal failure and its treatment. One patient was a 35-year-old man who developed profound SNHL after 5 sessions of hemodialysis, and the other was a 36-year-old woman who developed severe to profound SNHL after 7 sessions. It is our impression that both hearing losses might have been attributable to osmotic disequilibrium in the labyrinth or to an acute labyrinthine injury caused by contamination of the blood by the degraded product of an old cellulose acetate hemodialyzer membrane; the hemodialyzer had been in use for 15 years.

BackgroundSerological safety is an integral part of overall safety for blood banks.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and specificities of red blood cell alloimmunization in multi-transfused patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).MethodsA cross-sectional case-control study carried out at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in which 186 patients with CKD were enrolled consecutively, 124 had received multiple transfusions (more than one unit of blood in one month, or at least 10 units within 3 months), while 62 had never been transfused. Antibody screen test was performed by the gel agglutination technique. RBC antibody identification was performed on the sera of those that tested positive to antibody screening test.ResultsOut of the 124 multi-transfused patients (total of 789 transfusions), 4 (3.2%) were alloimmunised. The alloimmunised patients received a higher mean number of 17.5 ± 12 blood units, compared to 6 ± 6 units by the non-alloimmunised multi-transfused patient (p= <0.001). Six clinically significant alloantibodies were identified with all of the alloimmunised patients forming more than one antibody. Anti-E was detected in all alloimmunised patients.ConclusionThe prevalence of RBC alloimmunisation in multi-transfused CKD patients was 3.2% with anti-E being the most frequently identified antibody.

Background/Objective:Renal diseases constitute an enormous health burden globally, more so in developing countries. This report determines the patterns and outcomes of renal diseases in the medical wards of the University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria.Methods:A retrospective study of patients admitted for renal disease in 4 years.Results:A total of 3841 patients were admitted to the medical wards, of which 590 (15.4%) had renal disease. Mean age of patients was 46 ± 15 years. Median duration of admission was 14 days (range 1–92 days). The most prevalent renal diseases were hypertensive nephropathy, diabetic nephropathy, chronic glomerulonephritis, and HIV-related renal disease constituting 22.8%, 16.6%, 14.4%, and 13.1%, respectively. Acute kidney injury constituted 12.4% of renal admissions. Analysis of outcome showed that 317 (53.7%) were discharged home, 49 (8.3%) patients discharged themselves against medical advice or absconded while 120 (20.3%) patients died of the disease. The highest mortality rate (22.5%) was observed among patients with the HIV-related renal disease.Conclusion:Renal disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria. This underscores an urgent need to institute measures for prevention and early detection of renal disease and reduction of its burden.

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