Multicentre prospective randomised trial of tacrolimus, azathioprine and prednisolone with or without basiliximab: two-year follow-up data.

A total of 192 children and adolescents undergoing renal transplantation were randomly chosen to receive tacrolimus, azathioprine and corticosteroids (TAS, n = 93) or tacrolimus, azathioprine, corticosteroids and two doses of basiliximab (TAS + B, n = 99). Six-month outcome data have previously been reported; this manuscript reports the 2-year data. Complete 2-year data were available on 164 (85.

Post streptococcal acute glomerulonephritis secondary to sporadic Streptococcus equi infection.

Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus infection is rare in humans, but a well-known cause of pyogenic disease in cows and horses. S. zooepidemicus uncommonly causes post-strep glomerulonephritis (PSGN) in humans via epidemic outbreaks.

Renovascular hypertension commencing during fetal life.

We report three infants with severe, early hypertension due to unilateral renovascular disease, whose cardiovascular changes, or polycythaemia, or both, indicated they had been affected as fetuses. All underwent unilateral nephrectomy, and had a similar histology, with patchy areas having relatively normal glomeruli but immature proximal tubules. This pattern may be a marker for renovascular disease in fetal life.

Management of acute renal failure in the newborn.

Acute renal failure is common in the neonatal period. It is usually manifest by abnormal biochemistry and decreased urine output (<1 ml/kg/h), but non-oliguric renal failure is also common. A detailed understanding of the common pathophysiological mechanisms is rarely needed but an understanding of the common aetiologies (pre-renal, renal and post-renal) will enable the clinician to approach the problem in a logical manner.

Acute appendicitis occurring immediately post-renal transplant.

A 10-yr-old boy who presented with vomiting and abdominal pain 12 days after an uneventful renal transplant had no identifiable transplant-related cause for these symptoms. Four days later a perforated appendix was diagnosed. His case illustrates that common abdominal pathologies may present differently in immunosuppressed, transplanted patients, causing diagnostic delay.

The Alport nephropathy: clinicopathological correlations.

The alleged dominance of diffuse attenuation of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in young children and females with Alport's Syndrome (AS) suggests that it might be the initial ultrastructural manifestation of type IV collagen defects. We carried out a 'blind' review of 130 renal biopsies obtained from 100 patients with AS, emphasizing the electron microscopy changes, and related the findings to the clinical presentation and outcome. The intracapillary distribution of (1) thickened, (2) attenuated and (3) normal GBM was assessed individually as: none (grade 0), <25% (grade 1), 25-50% (grade 2) and >50% (grade 3).