Abstract

BRANCO, Carolina et al. Not Everything is as it Seems: An Unusual Case of Pyelonephritis. Port J Nephrol Hypert [online]. 2022, vol.36, n.4, pp.246-249.  Epub Dec 30, 2022. ISSN 0872-0169.  https://doi.org/10.32932/pjnh.2022.11.210.

Urinary tract infection is an important cause of hospitalization, morbidity and mortality, being responsible for an important fraction of health expenses. The main risk factors are urine flow obstruction, urinary catheters, immunosuppression and diabetes mellitus.

We present a case of pyelonephritis that culminated in nephrectomy, finally unravelling an unexpected diagnosis. A 52-year-old male presented in the emergency department with two weeks of pain in the left iliac fossa that irradiated to the lumbar region and cloudy urine. Lab work revealed severe anaemia (4.9 g/dL), inflammatory markers elevation, leucoerythrocyturia, serum creatinine of 4.33 mg/dL and metabolic acidosis. Computed tomography scan showed a swollen left kidney with a staghorn calculus and intraparenchymal hypodensities.

After a failed trial of large spectrum antibiotics, he was submitted to left radical nephrectomy with significant clinical improvement. Gross examination showed a markedly dilated pyelocalicial tree, filled with several staghorn calculi and purulent secretions with associated parenchymal atrophy. Histopathologic evaluation revealed exuberant chronic pyelonephritis with an acute inflammatory infiltrate that extended into the perinephric fat and multiple Schistosoma ova, predominantly calcified.

The authors describe the case of a severe pyelonephritis with exuberant clinical and imagiological features and rare microbiological findings, suggesting previous genitourinary Schistosomiasis that predisposed to nephrolithiasis and chronic pyelonephritis.

Keywords : Pyelonephritis/diagnosis; Pyelonephritis/diagnostic imaging; Schistosomiasis; Urinary Tract Infections.

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