Background/aims: We investigated whether urinary podocytes are present in septic patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-associated glomerulonephritis and whether polymyxin B-immobilized fiber (PMX-F) treatment affects proteinuria and urinary podocyte excretion in these patients.
Methods: Twenty septic patients with MRSA-associated glomerulonephritis (mean age: 63.7 years) and 80 septic patients whose MRSA infection was not followed by glomerulonephritis (mean age: 60.5 years) were included in this study. All septic patients were treated with fosfomycin sodium, beta-lactams, arbekacin sulfate, and teicoplanin, or a combination of these. Twenty septic patients with MRSA-associated glomerulonephritis were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: PMX-F treatment (group A, n = 10) and conventional treatment (group B, n = 10). PMX-F treatment was repeated twice.
Results: Urinary podocytes and urinary protein excretion were not detected in MRSA septic patients without glomerulonephritis. However, urinary podocytes (1.7 +/- 0.6 cells/ml) and proteinuria (2.6 +/- 0.6 g/d) were detected in the 20 septic patients with MRSA-associated glomerulonephritis. Plasma endotoxin levels were decreased from 13.6 +/- 4.6 pg/ml to 6.6 +/- 2.2 pg/ml (p < 0.05) in group A. Levels in group B, however, showed little difference after treatment. Urinary podocytes were reduced in group A (from 1.8 +/- 0.6 cells/ml to 0.4 +/- 0.2 cells/ml, p < 0.01) as was urinary protein excretion (from 3.0 +/- 0.5 g/d to 0.8 +/- 0.4 g/d, p < 0.01) but urinary podocytes and protein excretion levels showed little difference after treatment in group B.
Conclusion: PMX-F treatment may be effective in reducing urinary protein and urinary podocyte excretion in septic patients with MRSA-associated glomerulonephritis.
Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel