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Background Visceral disseminated varicella zoster viral (VZV) infection is a rare but severe complication with a high mortality rate in immunosuppressed individuals, and an increased susceptibility to VZV has been reported in kidney transplant recipients who are treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). In Japan, MMF is currently approved for patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and data to indicate its optimal dosage are still insufficient. Case presentation A 46-year-old Japanese woman with rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and LN class III (A/C). Although initial remission-induction therapy with prednisolone and tacrolimus was started, her serum creatinine level and urinary protein excretion were elevated. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy was added, and tacrolimus was switched to MMF. Two months after admission when she was taking 40 mg of PSL and 1500 mg of MMF daily, she suddenly developed upper abdominal pain and multiple skin blisters, and disseminated visceral VZV infection was diagnosed. Laboratory examinations demonstrated rapid exacerbation of severe acute liver failure and coagulation abnormalities despite immediate multidisciplinary treatment, and she died of hemorrhagic shock 7 days after the onset of abdominal pain. A serum sample collected at the time of admission revealed that she had recursive VZV infection. Conclusions MMF together with high-dose glucocorticoid therapy may increase the risk of VZV infection in Asian patients with SLE. Accumulation of evidence for parameters of safety, such as the area under the blood concentration–time curve of mycophenolic acid, should be urgently considered in order to establish a safer protocol for remission induction therapy in Asian patients with LN.

Refractory pleural effusion can be a life-threatening complication in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. We report successful treatment of refractory pleural effusion using a Denver® pleuroperitoneal shunt in one such patient. A 54-year-old Japanese man, who had previously undergone left nephrectomy, was admitted urgently to our department because of a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level, right pleural effusion, and right renal abscess. Because antibiotics proved ineffective and his general state was deteriorating, he underwent emergency insertion of a thoracic drainage tube and nephrectomy, and hemodialysis was started. Although his general state improved slowly thereafter, the pleural effusion, which was unilateral and transudative, remained refractory and therefore he needed to be on oxygenation. To control the massive pleural effusion, a pleuroperitoneal shunt was inserted. Thereafter, his respiratory condition became stable without oxygenation and he was discharged. His general condition has since been well. Although pleural effusion is a common complication of maintenance hemodialysis, few reports have documented the use of pleuroperitoneal shunt to control refractory pleural effusion. Pleuroperitoneal shunt has been advocated as an effective and low-morbidity treatment for refractory pleural effusion, and its use for some patients with recurrent pleural effusion has also been reported, without any severe complications. In the present case, pleuroperitoneal shunt improved the patient’s quality of life sufficiently to allow him to be discharged home without oxygenation. Pleuroperitoneal shunt should be considered a useful treatment option for hemodialysis patients with refractory pleural effusion.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma-cell neoplasm that can cause renal disorders. Renal lesions in MM can present with a very rare pathological manifestation involving a specific monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig). We report the case of a 33-year-old woman who had edema, fatigue, elevated serum creatinine levels, hypoalbuminemia, and hypercholesterolemia. She had persistent hematuria and proteinuria lasting 3 years. Serum protein electrophoresis showed an M-spike, and serum immunofixation demonstrated the presence of monoclonal IgG λ. She had proteinuria in the nephrotic range, and a monoclonal λ fragment was present on urine immunofixation. Renal biopsy showed proliferative glomerulonephritis with λ light chain and C3c deposition and inflammatory cell infiltration with CD68. Macrophage lysosomes contained λ light chains, suggesting their partial phagocytosis. She was diagnosed with symptomatic MM and was treated with bortezomib and dexamethasone and an autologous peripheral stem cell transplant conditioned with intravenous melphalan. She achieved a partial response with decreased serum monoclonal protein and improved renal function. This case may be categorized as a monoclonal gammopathy-associated proliferative glomerulonephritis. The biopsy finding of partially phagocytosed Ig λ light chains by macrophages is very rare; this pathological condition is similar to crystal-storing histiocytosis.