Anemia after kidney transplant is not uncommon. This paper reports a case of unexplained anemia in a kidney transplant recipient that persisted for more than two months, and that did not respond to recombinant human erythropoietin treatment but was successfully treated after diagnosing Parvovirus B19 (ParvoV B19) infection. A middle-aged male underwent living-unrelated kidney transplantation from Pakistan in April 2015. He was on triple immuno-suppression therapy consisting of prednisolone, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. He presented with anemia which persisted for more than two months that did not improve with Darbepoetin alpha and required blood transfusions. A bone marrow biopsy demonstrated pure erythroid hypoplasia and occasional giant pronormoblasts characteristic of a ParvoV B19 infection. The serum was highly positive for ParvoV B19 DNA polymerase chain reaction. The anemia resolved completely three weeks after the administration of intravenous immunoglobulin. ParvoV B19 infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of kidney transplant recipients who present with anemia associated with a low reticulocyte count.
Hypercalcemia may follow hypocalcemia in the course of acute renal failure (also named now as acute kidney injury) secondary to rhabdomyolysis. The clinician should be aware of this calcium kinetics to avoid the complications of both hypocalcemia and hypercalcemia that may occur at few days interval during the recovery phase. We present herewith the case of a young gentleman who developed anuric ARF due to a strenuous exercise induced rhabdomyolysis. He was treated with supportive, corrective and dialysis measures. The progress was favourable with a diuretic phase. During the diuretic phase, he developed progressive hypercalcemia that reached up to 3.54 mEq/lwith constipation and drowsiness. Investigations showed besides stigmata of rhabdomyolysis and ARF, low initial levels of vitamin D metabolites. The calcemia eventually normalized with fluids, dialysis and a single dose of Pamidronate Sodium . The patient was discharged 3 weeks after admission with a recovered clinical condition, improved renal functions and normal calcemia. The biphasic kinetics of calcium in this setting is ocumented. We conclude that serum corrected calcium should be monitored in the context of ARF due to rhabdomyolysis.
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