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Plant toxins are known to cause acute kidney injury in tropical countries. We report two cases of acute kidney injury with tubular oxalate deposition following ingestion of Averrhoa bilimbi fruit juice. Both patients had complete renal recovery though one required dialytic support.

Goodpasture's syndrome complicating pregnancy is extremely rare and dialysis requiring anti GBM disease with renal recovery is uncommon. We report a case of a 23-year-old primi gravida who presented with Goodpasture's syndrome during thirteenth week of pregnancy. She was initiated on steroids and cytotoxic drugs along with intensive plasma exchange and alternate day hemodialysis. Her pregnancy was terminated at 15 weeks. Patient improved dramatically with treatment, her renal functions normalized and her Anti GBM antibody titer became negative.

Background There is no consensus regarding dose and frequency of rituximab in Nephrology with extrapolation of dose used in treating lymphoproliferative disorders. There are no guidelines on targeting initial and subsequent doses based on CD19 + B cells. Methods 100 mg rituximab was given initially in 42 adults with steroid dependent (SDNS) and frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome (FRNS), idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN) and high immunologic risk kidney transplantation. Absolute and percentage CD19 B cells and clinical status were assessed at baseline, days 30, 90, 180 and 1 year. Subsequent doses of rituximab were based on CD19 B cell reconstitution and clinical response. Results CD19 B cell percentage decreased from 16.3+7.6 to 0.3±0.3 (P=<0.001), 1.9±1.7 (P=<0.001) and 4.0±4.5 (P=0.005) by 30, 90 and 180 days respectively. Suppression of CD 19 B cell count below 1% at day 30, 90 and 180 was 40/42 (95.2%), 18/42(42.9%) and 7/42(16.7%) respectively. Of 30 with SDNS and FRNS followed up for one year, 29(96.7%) went into remission at day 30. Remission was sustained in 23(76.6%) at day 180 and 21(70%) at 1 year. There was significant decrease [P <0.001] in the dose of steroids needed to maintain remission at 180 days following rituximab (0.27±0.02mg/Kg to 0.02±0.00mg/Kg). CD 19 B cell percentage at 90 days correlated with relapse (P=0.001, OR 1.422, 95% CI 1.246-2.574). Eighteen (60%) required an additional dose. Of five with MN, four achieved remission by 6 months which was sustained in three by 1 year. Of the 7 kidney transplant recipients, 2 had antibody mediated rejections though CD19 B cells were suppressed even at one year. Conclusions Low dose rituximab induces sustained depletion of CD19 B cells up to 90 days. Its role in preventing relapses in SDNS, FRNS, MN and rejection needs further studies.

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