Medullary sponge kidney presenting in a neonate with distal renal tubular acidosis and failure to thrive: A case report

Abstract

Introduction. Medullary sponge kidney is a congenital anomaly characterized by diffuse ectasy of the collecting tubules of one or both kidneys. It is usually diagnosed in the second or third decade of life. Case presentation. Distal renal tubular acidosis is commonly observed in patients with medullary sponge kidney. We describe here a 50-day-old Egyptian Caucasian girl with medullary sponge kidney who had features of distal renal tubular acidosis, (persistent alkaline urine, hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia) and failure to thrive. Renal ultrasound revealed left renal increased medullary echogenicity and bilateral nephrocalcinosis. Conclusion. Early gene(s) expression of medullary sponge kidney disease might be responsible for persistent metabolic acidosis during the neonatal period. © 2009 El-Sawi et al; licensee Cases Network Ltd.