Continuous Venovenous Hemodiafiltration Versus Standard Medical Therapy for the Prevention of Rhabdomyolysis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Aim: To determine whether continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) plus standard medical therapy (SMT) vs. SMT alone prevents rhabdomyolysis (RM)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and to analyze the related health economics.Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved patients with RM without AKI, coronary heart disease, or chronic kidney disease treated with CVVHDF plus SMT (treatment group, n = 9). Matched patients with RM without AKI treated with SMT only served as controls (1:1 ratio). Baseline characteristics, biochemical indexes, renal survival data, and health economic data were compared between groups. In the treatment group, some biochemical data were compared at different time points.Results: At 2 and 7 days after admission, serum biochemical indices (e.g., myoglobin, creatine kinase, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen) did not differ between the two groups. Total (P = 0.011) and daily hospitalization costs (P = 0.002) were higher in the treatment group than in the control group. After 53 months of follow-up, no patient developed increased serum creatinine, except for 1 treatment-group patient who died of acute myocardial infarction. In the treatment group, myoglobin levels significantly differed before and after the first CVVHDF treatment (P = 0.008), and serum myoglobin, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen decreased significantly at different time points after CVVHDF.Conclusions: Although CVVHDF facilitated myoglobin elimination, its addition to SMT did not improve serum myoglobin or other biochemical indices or the long-term renal prognosis. Despite similar hospitalization durations, both total and daily hospitalization costs were higher in the treatment group.

Hemoadsorption Treatment with CytoSorb® in Probable Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: A Role as Adjunctive Therapy?

Acute hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening disease, with an annual incidence of 1 : 800,000 people. The disease is characterized by a cytokine storm, with concomitant macrophage and natural killer (NK) cell activation; death can occur from multiple organ failure or complications such as bleeding diathesis. Therefore, HLH treatment remains a challenging one. We hereby present a case of a 76-year-old man with severe HLH in whom hemoadsorption was successfully applied. Due to the failure of the immunomodulatory therapy , continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration therapy with the CytoSorb® adsorber was successfully applied for 48 hours. Upon therapy discontinuation, the biological and clinical condition reverted, unfortunately evolving towards the patient’s death.

Rhabdomyolysis, Acute Kidney Injury, and a Novel Frameshift Mutation in a Child with Glutaric Acidemia Type I

This is a case report of a girl with glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I) who experienced rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury (AKI). Her first acute metabolic crisis occurred at the age of 5 months, which mainly manifested as irritable crying, poor appetite, and hyperlactatemia. Mutation analysis showed 2 pathogenic mutations in the glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) gene, which were c.383G>A (p.R128Q) and c.873delC (p.N291Kfs*41), the latter of which is a novel frameshift mutation of GA-I. She had a febrile illness at the age of 12 months, followed by AKI and severe rhabdomyolysis. Four days of continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) helped to overcome this acute decompensation. This case report describes a novel mutation in the GCDH gene, that is, c.873delC (p.N291Kfs*41). Also, it highlights the fact that patients with GA-I have a high risk of rhabdomyolysis and AKI, which may be induced by febrile diseases and hyperosmotic dehydration; CVVHDF can help to overcome this acute decompensation.