End stage renal disease diabetic patients suffer from worse clinical outcomes under dialysis-independently of modality. Peritoneal dialysis offers them the advantages of home therapy while sparing their frail vascular capital and preserving residual renal function. Other benefits and potential risks deserve discussion. Predialysis intervention with early nephrology referral, patient education, and multidisciplinary support are recommended. Skilled and updated peritoneal dialysis protocols must be prescribed to assure better survival. Optimized volume control, glucose-sparing peritoneal dialysis regimens, and elective use of icodextrin are key therapy strategies. Nutritional evaluation and support, preferential use of low-glucose degradation products solutions, and prescription of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system acting drugs should also be part of the panel to improve diabetic care under peritoneal dialysis.

No abstract

Cantharidin is a poisonous substance secreted by blister beetles, including the ‘Spanish fly’. Historically, cantharidin was used as an aphrodisiac, vesicant and abortifacient. Symptoms of poisoning include gastrointestinal and genitourinary mucosal irritation along with renal dysfunction. We present the case of a reckless 23-year-old soldier who accepted the challenge of eating a beetle (Berberomeloe majalis). Six hours later he was admitted to the emergency room with abdominal pain, dysuria, gross haematuria with clots, hypotension, fever and renal insufficiency. With intravenous fluid therapy, he recovered clinically. Laboratory parameters returned to normal within 1 week.

Transplant glomerulopathy is mainly due to chronic antibody-mediated rejection and actually represents a major cause of long-term allograft failure. The lack of effective treatment remains a serious problem in transplantation. A retrospective and uni-center study was performed in 48 kidney allograft recipients with transplant glomerulopathy between January 2010 and December 2015. Median time for diagnosis was 7.1 (3.6-11.8) years post-transplant. Light microscopy showed severity of transplant glomerulopathy in the majority of patients (cg1=10.4%; cg2=20.8%; cg3=68.8%). Moderate microvascular inflammation was present in 56.3% (g+ptc≥2), and almost half of recipients (51.1%) were C4d positive in immunofluorescence. Female gender (P=.001), age (P=.043), renal dysfunction (P=.002), acute rejection episodes (P=.026), and anti-HLA class II antibodies (P=.004) were associated with kidney allograft failure. Treatment of transplant glomerulopathy was performed in 67.6% of patients. The histologic and laboratory features that led to a therapeutic intervention were score ptc (P=.021), C4d (P=.03), and the presence of anti-HLA antibodies (P=.029), whereas score ah (P=.005) was associated with conservative measure. The overall cumulative kidney allograft survival at 10 years was 75%. Treatment of transplant glomerulopathy was ineffective to improve long-term kidney allograft survival.

SUMMARYHypokalaemia is a common clinical disorder, the cause of which can usually be determined by the patient's clinical history. Gitelman syndrome is an inherited tubulopathy that must be considered in some settings of hypokalaemia. We present the case of a 60-year-old male patient referred to our nephrology department for persistent hypokalaemia. Clinical history was positive for symptoms of orthostatic hypotension and polyuria. There was no history of drugs consumption other than potassium supplements. Complementary evaluation revealed hypokalaemia (2.15 mmol/l), hypomagnesaemia (0.29 mmol/l), metabolic alkalosis (pH 7.535, bicarbonate 34.1 mmol/l), hypereninaemia (281.7 U/ml), increased chloride (160 mmol/l) and sodium (126 mmol/l) urinary excretion and reduced urinary calcium excretion (0.73 mmol/l). Renal function, remainder serum and urinary ionogram, and renal ultrasound were normal. A diagnosis of Gitelman syndrome was established. We reinforced oral supplementation with potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate. Serum potassium stabilised around 3 mmol/l. The aim of our article is to remind Gitelman syndrome in the differential diagnosis of persistent hypokalaemia. BACKGROUND