Unilateral renal artery stenosis causing hypertensive flash pulmonary oedema

Flash pulmonary oedema can occur as a result of multiple triggers that may act independently or in concert. One such precipitating factor is bilateral renal artery stenosis which can be treated either with revascularisation or with medical therapy. Unilateral renal artery stenosis, however, is a rare cause of flash pulmonary oedema, especially when the contralateral kidney is still functional. We describe a case of an elderly woman with a history of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and multiple hospitalisations for hypertensive crisis and flash pulmonary oedema who was found to have right, ostial renal artery stenosis that was treated with stent placement.

Bilateral renal artery stenosis in a young man

A 34-year-old patient with a short history of severe hypertension was admitted to our hospital. Considering the young age and the severity of hypertension, we investigated the most common causes of secondary hypertension. Exposure to a single dose of an ACE inhibitor resulted in a rapid decline of the renal function. Further MRIrevealed a tight stenosis of both renal arteries closely to the ostium. In young patients, the most common cause of bilateral renal artery stenosis might be expected to be fibromuscular dysplasia. After recovery of renal function, invasive angiography, however, confirmed severe atherosclerotic lesion of both renal arteries. Therefore, angioplasty of both renal arteries was performed as a staged procedure. Hence, renal function showed rapid improvement and the patient had to be treated with a combination of a low-dose calcium antagonist and valsartan and especially a high-intensity statin.

Isolated renal mucormycosis presenting with bilateral renal artery thrombosis: a case report

Background Mucormycosis is a rare infection caused by the fungus belonging to the order Mucorales. Mucormycosis predominantly affects immunocompromised individuals such as people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, blood malignancies, organ transplant, etc. Involvement of the kidneys usually occurs as a result of disseminated mucormycosis. We report a very rare case of isolated renal mucormycosis in an immunocompetant individual without any prior comorbidities who had an unusual presentation of mucormycosis. Case presentation A 17-year-old male student had presented to our emergency department with complaints of bilateral loin pain and fever for 10 days. There was no urine output for 2 days. Patient was in sepsis with acute kidney injury. A Doppler ultrasound of the abdomen revealed bilateral enlarged kidneys with absent blood flow in the renal vasculature. Dialysis was done, and patient was started on intravenous antibiotics. Patient was investigated for thrombophilia, the test results of which were normal. Sickle cell test was negative. Immunodeficiency screening was negative. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed bilateral enlarged kidneys with bilateral renal artery thrombosis and mild ascitis. CT-guided renal biopsy was performed in the same sitting which revealed fungal hyphae in the background of necrotic glomeruli. Patient was started on liposomal amphotericin B with renal replacement therapy. However, patient deteriorated and succumbed to sepsis on the 4th day of admission. Conclusion Isolated renal mucormycosis with bilateral renal artery thrombosis is a very rare clinical scenario with high mortality. One must have a high degree of suspicion to diagnose renal mucormycosis at an early stage.

Bilateral renal artery stenosis due to fibromuscular dysplasia presenting as superimposed pre-eclampsia

Renal vascular hypertension is a diagnosis that needs to be entertained in the setting of refractory, otherwise unexplained hypertension in pregnancy. Conclusive diagnosis of the condition is made by the use of angiography, which confers only a low, safe dose of radiation to the fetus, especially after the first trimester. Percutaneous angioplasty is effective in treating this condition and is best performed postnatally to avoid fetal exposure to ionising radiation. While it could be managed pharmacologically, more refractory cases in pregnancy may be offered interventional treatment.

Novel use of intravascular lithotripsy for coral reef aorta: a case report

Background The coral reef aorta (CRA) is a rare disease of extreme calcification in the juxtarenal aorta. These heavily calcified exophytic plaques grow into the lumen and can cause significant stenoses, leading to visceral ischaemia, renovascular hypertension, and claudication. Surgery or percutaneous intervention with stenting carries a high risk of complications and mortality. Case summary A 67-year-old female had presented with severe hypertension and exercise limiting claudication for 18 months. On evaluation, she was found to have severe bilateral renal artery stenoses with juxtarenal CRA causing subtotal occlusion. Both renal arteries were stented. For CRA, we used intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) assisted plain balloon angioplasty to minimize possibilities of major dissection and perforation and avoided chimney stent-grafts required to protect visceral and renal arteries. We used a double-balloon technique using a 6 × 60 mm IVL Shockwave M5 catheter and a 9 × 30 mm simple peripheral balloon catheter, inflated simultaneously at the site of CRA as parallel, hugging balloons to have an effective delivery of IVL. Shockwaves were given in juxta/infrarenal aorta to have satisfactory dilatation without any complication. The gradient across aortic narrowing reduced from 80 to 4 mmHg. She had an uneventful recovery and has remained asymptomatic at 6-month follow-up. Discussion When CRA is juxtarenal with no safe landing zones for stent-grafts, IVL may be a safe, less complex and effective alternative to the use of juxtarenal aortic stent-graft with multiple chimney or snorkel stent-grafts. This is the first report of a novel use of IVL to treat CRA.