BACKGROUND: A 43-year-old African-American female (gravida 5 para 0) with an 8-week intrauterine pregnancy presented to the emergency room with crampy abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and shoulder pain. She had normal renal function on admission. CT angiography of the chest revealed bilateral pulmonary emboli; therefore, the AngioJet (Possis Medical, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) device was used to perform mechanical thrombolysis. The patient subsequently developed hyperkalemia, red urine and anuria. INVESTIGATIONS: Physical examination, measurement of serum creatinine level and electrolytes, dipstick urinalysis and centrifugation of urine and blood. DIAGNOSIS: Acute kidney injury due to hemoglobinuria as a result of non-immune-mediated intravascular hemolysis following the use of a percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy device (AngioJet). MANAGEMENT: Hydration, alkalinization of urine and initiation of hemodialysis (temporarily switched to continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration). Urine output improved after the 20th day of hospitalization, at which point dialysis was discontinued. The patient's renal function completely recovered by day 25.
Dukkipati et al. (2008) studied this question.