An 80-year-old gentleman on treatment with PD was admitted with increasing dyspnea and progressive reduction in ultrafiltration volumes over the previous week. His end-stage kidney disease was secondary to hypertension; he had also previously had a left nephrectomy for cancer. His comorbidities included systemic hypertension, stroke, glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, and osteoarthritis. He had started PD 3 months prior to admission. During the previous 2 weeks, he had switched from CAPD with daytime exchanges to nocturnal cycler-assisted automated peritoneal dialysis (APD).\nOn initial assessment, he was tachypneic and hypoxic. The jugular venous pressure was elevated; there was also peripheral edema. On auscultation, he had reduced breath sounds over the right lower hemithorax, with dullness on percussion. His electrocardiogram (ECG) and initial blood tests were unremarkable. The chest X-ray showed a large right pleural effusion ().\nTherapeutic thoracentesis was performed. 3 litres of fluid were drained; his clinical status improved markedly. A repeat chest X-ray showed complete resolution of pleural effusion ().\nBiochemical analysis of pleural fluid showed high concentrations of sugar and creatinine, and negligible protein, consistent with peritoneal dialysate fluid ().\nTreatment was changed temporarily to hemodialysis via a tunneled central venous catheter. He underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and talc pleurodesis, which he tolerated well. At the time of the procedure, most pleural fluids had been drained. There was no fresh drainage of fluid into the pleural space. Some pleural thickening was described.\n4 weeks later, PD was recommenced, in CAPD mode, with small fill volumes and avoidance of nightly dwells. He subsequently tolerated CAPD without complications and was recommenced on APD. Hemodialysis was successfully discontinued.
A 14-year-old Indonesian girl who experienced successful live-unrelated renal transplantation from a 21-year-old donor in April 2017 has been living with normal graft function. In November 2014 she was diagnosed with ESRD secondary to nephrotic syndrome and started regular HD via single-use dialyzer. She had a history of repeated blood transfusions but no family history of viral hepatitis.\nShe was diagnosed with HCV infection with a high viral load (2.69 × 106 IU/mL, 6.43 log IU/mL of serum HCV RNA) and rising liver function markers (AST 180 U/L, ALT 133 IU/L, GGT 142 U/L) in September 2015 (). HCV RNA genotype testing was conducted using hybridization probe (The Versant HCV Genotype 2.0 Assay (LiPA), Siemens), revealing HCV genotype 1a. A 4.8-kPa liver stiffness was observed with transient elastography (fibroscan), which was categorized as F0-F1 (mild liver fibrosis) ().\nShe began receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin in October 2015 prior to renal transplantation. Ten months later (August 2016), real-time PCR still showed the presence of HCV RNA (2.56 × 106 IU/mL, 5.41 Log IU/mL). In addition, she experienced thrombocytopenia—which is a side effect of interferon—resulting in termination of treatment.\nIn April 2017, she received kidney transplantation. At two months post-transplantation, she was diagnosed with post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM), which manifested as a spontaneous inguinal abscess (10 × 3 × 0.5 cm), hyperglycemia (617 mg/dL), and ketonemia without acidosis. This PTDM is believed to be associated with her status as HCV-infected KTR, in addition to the side effect of tacrolimus–corticosteroid combination. PTDM resolved after tapering off methylprednisolone and seven months of insulin therapy.\nAt 20 months post-renal transplantation, graft function was normal; thus, treatment of HCV infection with DAAs was initiated. Since data about the treatment safety with DAAs in pediatrics are limited, we obtained parental consent after arranging meticulous discussion with the Hospital Ethics Committee. She started receiving sofosbuvir/daclatasvir in December 2018. HCV RNA with real-time PCR immediately after, at 12 weeks, and at 24 weeks after treatment initiation showed no HCV RNA (). There were no adverse effects during treatment with DAAs.