Abstract
Introduction
Acute kidney injury (AKI) after high dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is associated with delayed MTX-excretion and life-threatening toxicity. Glucapridase, the recommended therapy, is expensive and not always available.
Case series
We describe 3 cases (69, 67, 73 years) with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who developed AKI and early-onset severely delayed MTX elimination after HD-MTX. MTX serum concentrations were 101 and 69 μmol/L at 24 h after administration in two patients and 34 μmol/L at 32 h in the third.
Management and outcome
Since glucarpidase was unavailable, we performed daily high-flux hemodialysis (HF-HD) or online hemodiafiltration (HDF) sessions (median duration, 6 h). The median serum MTX elimination half-life during HDF/HF-HD sessions was similar in all patients (median, 4.4 h; IQR, 3.8–5.3 h), but serum MTX concentrations rebounded after each dialysis by a median of 40% of the trough concentrations. The three patients underwent multiple dialysis sessions, until MTX serum concentrations remained sufficiently low to be neutralized by leucovorin. Only 1 patient developed severe pancytopenia, and renal function normalized in all patients after 3–6 weeks.
Discussion
In conclusion, when glucarpidase is unavailable or delayed, early, repeated and prolonged HDF/HF-HD effectively enhance MTX elimination and prevent toxicity in patients with AKI and severely delayed MTX elimination after HD-MTX.
Keywords
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