Open AccessPost‐transplant neutrophilic interstitial nephritis ‐ an important cause of graft dysfunction
Author(s) -
Castro Maria Cristina Ribeiro,
Saldanha Luiz Balthazar,
Nahas William,
David Daisa Silva Ribeiro,
Arap Sami,
DaviDNeto Elias,
Sabbaga Emil,
Ianhez Luiz Estevan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-2277.1998.tb01099.x
Subject(s) - medicine , etiology , interstitial nephritis , transplantation , urinary system , sepsis , nephrology , gastroenterology , surgery , nephritis , kidney
Post‐transplant neutrophilic interstitial nephritis (NIN) is characterized by an interstitial infiltrate consisting of polymorphonuclear cells that leads frequently to acute graft dysfunction. In 220 graft biopsies performed because of renal dysfunction over 2 years in our unit, 11 (5 %) diagnoses of NIN were made. Only two patients had chronic pyelonephritis as original disease. Four patients had urological problems before transplantation. After transplantation, five patients had urinary tract infection, one had urethral stenosis, two had vesicourethral reflux and one patient had a perine‐phritic abscess. Seven patients had fever (63 %). Only in six patients did urine culture lead to microorganism isolation. After 6 months, only two patients had a serum creatinine level < 1.4 mg/dl, five patients had abnormal function, three had lost their grafts, and one patient had died with sepsis. We conclude that 5 % of the biopsies performed in our center disclosed NIN, an entity that causes graft dysfunction and progresses frequently to chronic renal failure. In some cases, no infectious etiology could be detected.