Graft lymphoma in a kidney transplant recipient: a case report

Abstract

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) are severe complications with heterogeneous clinical pictures involving abnormal lymphoproliferation in solid organ transplants and are known to be closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Herein, we present a case of graft lymphoma in a febrile kidney transplant recipient. A 37-year-old woman was admitted with an abrupt 39 o C fever, mild graft discomfort, and gross hematuria. She had received deceased donor kidney transplantation 8 years earlier, but developed graft failure due to a recurrence of immunoglobulin A nephropathy. Laboratory tests revealed anemia and elevated levels of inflammatory markers. Enhanced abdominopelvic computed tomography showed graft swelling with perirenal fat stranding. Thus, we administered antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and increased the doses of steroids due to suspicion of graft intolerance syndrome. However, the patient's symptoms gradually worsened. Eventually, we performed graft nephrectomy and histologically confirmed EBV-positive diffuse large B cell lymphoma. We report a case in which a PTLD was considered in the differential diagnosis of a kidney transplant recipient with symptoms similar to those of a urinary tract infection or graft intolerance syndrome.