I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Nephrology Cases #10: Cancer and Kidney Failure

A 65 year old man with previously normal renal function has a few days of poor appetite and is found to have a creatinine of 4 and widespread lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma or leukemia. A urinalysis shows no proteinuria or hematuria. His renal function worsens despite intravenous fluids. What are the top four possible causes of his kidney failure? (Answers in comments.)