Hypertensive crisis, erythrocytosis, and uraemia due to renal-artery stenosis of kidney transplants

Abstract

Two patients with kidney transplants had hypertensive encephalopathy and rapidly progressive kidney failure 10 weeks and 18 months postoperatively. In one patient renal failure was associated with erythrocytosis. Absence of proteinuria, despite progressive renal insufficiency in both patients, suggested that these abnormalities were not due to rejection episodes. Subsequently, angiography proved that each of these patients had renal-artery stenosis. Surgical repair of this lesion increased creatinine clearance at least threefold, and the hypertension and erythrocytosis disappeared. Apparent "rejection" episodes in which there is no proteinuria should alert clinicians to the possiblity of renal-artery stenosis of the graft. Restoration of kidney function and amelioration of hypertension may follow revascularisation, even after many months of renal ischaemia producing severe uraemia.