Rituximab use for lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma during continuous renal replacement therapy

Abstract

Rituximab safety and efficacy in patients with renal impairment have not been established, nor have the effects of hemodialysis on serum rituximab level. There are only a few published case reports assessing serum rituximab level pre- and postdialysis. No data have been published regarding the usage of rituximab in patients with continuous renal replacement therapy. The authors present a case of a 59-year-old female patient who presented with paraneoplastic tetraparesis. She was admitted to the intensive care unit due to alveolar hemorrhage with respiratory failure and acute kidney injury requiring continuous renal replacement therapy. After a diagnostic workup, the diagnosis of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma was established. Therapy with rituximab and cyclophosphamide was started. Rituximab levels were determined in serum and dialysate. No rituximab was found in the dialysate. The patient died after 2 months in the intensive care unit from nosocomial pneumonia due to multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.