Open AccessEmphysematous pyelonephritis presenting as a sonologically absent kidney
Author(s) -
Chirag Patel,
Urmila Anandh,
Ankit B. Shah,
Raghu Malghan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
saudi journal of kidney diseases and transplantation/našrat amraḍ wa zira'aẗ al-kulaẗ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.268
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 2320-3838
pISSN - 1319-2442
DOI - 10.4103/1319-2442.160209
Subject(s) - medicine , sepsis , intensive care medicine , acute kidney injury , kidney , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology
Emphysematous pyelonephritis is an acute necrotizing infection of the kidney caused by gas-producing organisms. It is being increasingly recognized as an underlying cause of sepsis. We present a case of emphysematous pyelonephritis where the affected kidney was filled with extensive gas. This made the detection of the kidney difficult by ultrasound. Also, this case presents the dilemma of managing a septic patient medically and the risks entailed in surgical intervention in such cases. Most often, these patients have underlying diabetes mellitus with underlying co-morbidities, making indicated surgical management difficult as illustrated by our patient.