BackgroundThe consequences of cocaine use are multisystemic, such as, for instance, renal failure, hepatotoxicity and pulmonary toxicity, with renal alterations being the focus of the present study. The use of substances that modify the base composition of cocaine (or adulterants) aiming to potentiate its effects also has an impact on these manifestations. The present study aims to report three cases with different diagnosis of acute kidney injury related to cocaine use.Case presentationCase 01 - A 30-year-old female patient, who regularly used cocaine, started to have lower-limb edema, which showed a progressive and ascending evolution, affecting the face a few days later, associated with an isolated febrile episode and oligoanuria. The presence of cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (C-ANCA) was verified: reactive 1:80, with renal biopsy compatible with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). Case 02 - A 34-year-old female patient, with difficult-to-control hypertension and a frequent user of cocaine, showed generalized sudden edema together with diffuse and progressive pruritus associated with oliguria, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Schistocyte screening was positive, with negative direct Coombs test, and negative serologies for hepatitis B, C and HIV, as well as negative anti-double-stranded DNA, Anti-SSA and Anti-SSB. The renal biopsy was compatible with thrombotic microangiopathy, associated with moderate interstitial fibrosis and acute tubular necrosis Case 03 - A 25-year-old male patient who had been a cocaine user for 5 years had a sudden onset of generalized disabling myalgia (especially in the lower limbs) associated with recent frontotemporal headache, palpitation, dizziness, and a non-measured febrile episode; the patient had used cocaine at the night before symptom onset. CPK was 1731 U/L.The final probable diagnosis was AKI secondary to cocaine-induced rhabdomyolysis.ConclusionsIn conclusion basically, 05 etiologies of acute kidney injury should always be remembered: rhabdomyolysis, thrombotic microangiopathy, vasculitis, acute interstitial nephritis and renal infarction. Emphasis should be given to rhabdomyolysis due to its higher prevalence. Considering the increasing rates of cocaine use, especially with the use of adulterating substances, these pathologies will likely be increasingly prevalent.

Visceral Leishmaniasis is a public health problem caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania. K39 serological test is commonly used in the initial investigation, with high specificity, but variable sensitivity. Amastigotes can be identified by optical microscopy, however, the differential diagnosis with cellular debris or other intracellular parasites is necessary. Recent studies have raised the possibility of using immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis with labeling of amastigotes by the anti-CD1a antibody. This retrospective study was based on 38 samples from patients with visceral leishmaniasis whose diagnoses were confirmed by myelogram and/or k39 testing, aside from positive (N=13) and negative biopsies (N=25), 2 samples from patients with false positive biopsies for visceral leishmaniasis and 8 samples from patients with histoplasmosis diagnosis. The histological slides were evaluated for the presence of amastigotes and their Modified Ridley Parasitic Index. The samples were submitted to immunohistochemical reactions using the anti-CD1a antibody with MTB1 and O10 clones. Immunohistochemical reactions with MTB1 and O10 clones had low sensitivity in this study. However, all bone marrow samples were previously decalcified with nitric acid which is probably a deleterious treatment for immunohistochemical reactions in this site. Excluding these samples, we obtained 58.33% sensitivity and 100% specificity with the MTB1 clone. Despite the intermediate sensitivity, the immunohistochemistry for the CD1a marker with clone MTB1 can be useful in the differential diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis, helping to discriminate leishmania amastigotes from other pathogens with similar morphology and cellular debris in different samples, except in bone marrow biopsies previously decalcified with nitric acid.

A doença inflamatória intestinal (DII) possui etiologia incerta, mas fatores ambientais, genéticos e imunológicos podem juntos justificar a patogênese, clínica e prognóstico desses pacientes. A manifestação clínica é diversa, sendo o acometimento renal um dos mais prevalentes, quando se exclui o trato gastrointestinal. Ademais, o papel genético na DII já foi mostrado em diversos trabalhos, principalmente em irmãos monozigóticos. A indução e manutenção do tratamento de casos leves/moderados de pacientes em remissão clínica apresenta boa eficácia com o uso de ácido 5-aminosalicílicos (mesalazina). Essa medicação, apesar de raro, também pode levar ao acometimento renal, com a nefrite intersticial sendo uma das principais etiologias. A seguir, descrevemos o caso de irmãos monozigóticos portadores de DII que desenvolveram nefrite intersticial em vigência de tratamento com mesalazina.

Relata-se um caso de tumor de células epitelioides perivasculares (PECOMA) hepático, diagnosticado em paciente feminino no Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio. Inicialmente, foi feita revisão de prontuário e em seguida, iniciou-se pesquisa bibliográfica da literatura nacional e internacional, obtidos nas bases de dados: SciELO e MEDLINE. PEComas são tumores raros, caracterizados pela coexpressão de fatores de transcrição melanocíticos e musculares. O caso de uma paciente de 49 anos com crises recorrentes de dor e desconforto epigástrico após alimentação. Tomografia computadorizada de abdome revelou volumosa massa hepática heterogênea, predominantemente hipodensa, de contornos regulares e limites definidos, exibindo áreas de necrose e artérias calibrosas internas serpinginosas e radiais, incluindo dilatações aneurismáticas. Paciente foi submetida à hepatectomia parcial. Macroscopicamente, os cortes de segmentos hepáticos exibiam tumoração bem delimitada, medindo 15,0 cm, pardo-amarronzada, com aspecto necrótico. À microscopia, o tumor era composto de células epitelioides poligonais, positivas para marcadores melanocíticos à imuno-histoquímica. Conclusões: PEcomas são tumores raros, que podem surgir em diversas regiões e são categorizados em benignos, com potencial maligno incerto ou malignos. Apresentamos o caso de uma paciente, que após exérese da lesão, evoluiu clinicamente estável, sem recorrência da doença, após seis meses de seguimento.